- Title: GERMANY: German and Israeli governments meet in Berlin
- Date: 19th January 2010
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (JANUARY 18, 2010) (REUTERS) ***FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** ARRIVAL OF ISRAELI AND GERMAN CABINETS AT FAMILY PHOTO LED BY NETANYAHU JOURNALISTS NETANYAHU SPEAKING WITH WESTERWELLE GUTTENBERG AND BARAK WESTERWELLE, NETANYAHU AND MERKEL TALKING FAMILY PHOTO AND MINISTERS LEAVING ROOM DEMONSTRATORS RABBI DEMONSTRATING BANNER READING (IN GERMAN) "ISRAEL IS TH
- Embargoed: 3rd February 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Germany
- Country: Germany
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVABJQA9TCTMG6MD3UCJU1WD1AHB
- Story Text: German and Israeli leaders meet in Berlin and visit the city's Holocaust Memorial.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday (January 18) for talks that are likely to focus on efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions and renew stalled Middle East peace talks.
Half a dozen cabinet colleagues are accompanying Netanyahu for meetings with their German counterparts. They aim to bolster ties on topics that also include Third World aid, renewable energy and science, officials from both countries said.
As part of the trip Netanyahu and Merkel also visited Berlin's monument to commemorate Jews killed in the Holocaust.
On the eve of the trip, Netanyahu told his cabinet Israel attributed "great importance" to its historic ties with Germany, saying they had "a very important impact on Israel's security". After the Holocaust, post-Nazi Germany was a major provider of aid to the new Israeli state and remains among its staunchest allies, though Berlin has been readier in recent years to join wider European criticism of Israeli policy toward Palestinians.
Netanyahu and Merkel are expected to discuss the latest efforts of six world powers, Germany among them, to impose new sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear developments, officials from both Israel and Germany said.
Israel and its allies accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian atomic programme. Iran, a major oil producer, says its aim is only to generate electricity.
Israel, assumed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, sees Iran's project as a threat to its existence, citing hostile rhetoric against the Jewish state by Iranian leaders. It has not ruled out using force if diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions fail to stop Iran's nuclear development plans.
Netanyahu and Merkel are also likely to discuss Western efforts to renew Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, ahead of an expected visit by U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell to the region in the coming days, the Israeli official said.
Merkel has played a role in efforts to renew negotiations stalled since Israel's offensive in Gaza a year ago. She has also criticised Jewish settlement building in the West Bank, which Palestinians say is a bar to resuming peace talks.
A German mediator has also been overseeing complicated talks for a possible deal to free an Israeli soldier held captive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since 2006 in exchange for freeing hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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