JERUSALEM: ISRAELI FM SLALOM MEETS WITH AUSTRALIAN COUNTAPART DOWNER IN JERUSALEM AND SAYS HE WILL ASK GERMANY TO PRESSURE IRAN FOR INFORMATION ON MISSING ISRAELI AIRMAN RON ARAD

Record ID: 400426

  • Title: JERUSALEM: ISRAELI FM SLALOM MEETS WITH AUSTRALIAN COUNTAPART DOWNER IN JERUSALEM AND SAYS HE WILL ASK GERMANY TO PRESSURE IRAN FOR INFORMATION ON MISSING ISRAELI AIRMAN RON ARAD
  • Date: 26th January 2004
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (JANUARY 26, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ALEXANDER DOWNER GETTING OUT OF CAR AND SHAKING HANDS WITH ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER SILVAN SHALOM 0.32 2. CU: JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES 0.37 3. SHALOM AND DOWNER ENTERING PRESSER 0.46 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) SHALOM, SAYING "For many years, we have been pressuring Ir
  • Embargoed: 10th February 2004 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JERUSALEM
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Reuters ID: LVAD1MNZ422TAXGMX5B6UYY8FWEK
  • Story Text: Israel's Foreign Minister says he asked Germany to
    pressure Iran for information on missing Israeli airman,
    meets Australian Foreign minister Alexander Downer.


    Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer visited
    his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Jerusalem on
    Monday (January 26, 2004)
    During his visit to the Middle East, Downer will also
    meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, President Moshe
    Katsav and the head of the opposition Labour party, Shimon
    Peres.

    It was not clear whether Downer, who last visited Israel
    in 1998, would be meeting any Palestinian officials.

    At a joint news conference after the meeting the Israeli
    foreign minister was questioned about long-missing Israeli
    airman Ron Arad.

    Shalom said that he sent a direct message from Israeli
    Prime Minster Ariel Sharon to the German mediator about the
    necessity of pressuring Iran to provide information about
    Arad who was not included in the prisoner swap deal with
    the Hizbollah.

    "We demand from the German government to use their
    influence on Iran in order to retrieve new information on
    Ron Arad. I told them that this is a personal request from
    the Prime Minister," Shalom said.

    Hizbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah confirmed on
    Sunday (January 25) a second stage of negotiations would
    deal with the fate of Israeli airman Ron Arad, missing in
    Lebanon since 1986, and four Iranian diplomats kidnapped in
    Lebanon in 1982 during the Israeli invasion.

    The final agreement announced on Saturday (January
    24) addresses the Arad issue by including a second stage
    whereby Israel would release Hizbollah guerrilla Samir
    Qantar in exchange for information about the airman.

    Israel believes Arad was handed over to Iran.


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