Clinton informs Israeli leaders about her talks with new Egyptian regime
By NVONews.Com Middle East Correspondent,
After two-day visit to Egypt, marred by stone- and tomato-pelting by the crowd the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, landed in Jerusalem late on Sunday, where she said her country and Israel must think and act together to face the changes sweeping the Middle East.
After meeting Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem on Monday Clinton hailed a “moment of great change and transformation in the region,” which she said should be grasped as an opportunity. She also met the country’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister, Ehud Barak. But the first person to whom she talked to was none else but Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman.
In her first visit to Israel in 22 months she told the Press “it is a time of uncertainty but also of opportunity. It is a chance to advance our shared goals of security, stability, peace and democracy.”
The talks with Israeli leaders revolved around Egypt, Syria, Iran and its nuclear programme and peace efforts with the Palestinians. She informed the Israeli leaders about the talks she held with President Mohamed Morsi and Field Marshal, Husain Tantawi.
“It is in moments like these that friends like us have to think together, act together,” she said further.
Clinton reached Israel on the last leg of her 12-day, eight-nation tour, which is considered very significant given the fact that the Presidential election is due in the United States on Nov 6.
Peres thanked Clinton and appreciate very much that “immediately after Egypt, you came to us with your latest impression because for us, as well as for the United States, Egypt is a key country in the Middle East and much depends on Egypt and a little bit on us as well, to continue the great march of peace.”
In spite of all these diplomatic efforts on the part of the United States, there are still fears that President Morsi, might seek to renegotiate the treaty with Israel. This is simply because his sparty, the Muslim Brotherhood, strongly opposed the Israel-Egypt peace pact of 1979. However, Morsi had at the very beginning also said that the international pacts and treaties his country had with other countries would be respected.
Clinton was accompanied by US Middle East envoy David Hale and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, who represents Washington at the talks between world powers and Iran.
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