MIDDLE EAST: Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta visits Yad Vashem at start of his meetings with Israeli officials

Record ID: 674780

  • Title: MIDDLE EAST: Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta visits Yad Vashem at start of his meetings with Israeli officials
  • Date: 1st July 2013
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (JULY 1, 2013) (REUTERS) **CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY** VARIOUS OF ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER ENRICO LETTA ENTERING JERUSALEM'S YAD VASHEM HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM PICTURES OF HOLOCAUST VICTIMS/ LETTA AT THE HALL OF NAMES WREATH WITH ITALIAN FLAG VARIOUS OF LETTA IN THE MUSEUM
  • Embargoed: 16th July 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jerusalem, Israel
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAEFKXTHY5CXWQY2CB0HBMMQTR6
  • Story Text: Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on Monday (July 1) visited Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust museum at the start of a two-day visit to the region.
    Letta later met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
    At the start of the meeting, Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel's willingness to restart negotiations:
    "We want peace, I want peace. We want to restart peace negotiations as soon as possible without any obstacles. We have to get into the tent and stay in the tent and seek to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. That's our goal," Netanyahu said.

    "That we would try all together and you first of all, the Palestinians and Secretary John Kerry, you will be able to find a solution. I think it should be very important for global peace and prosperity in the area and not only in the area of course," said Letta.
    Center-left Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who was nominated in April is visiting Israel as the first country out of Europe.

    "Today I am here as I promised you my first visit out of Europe is here visit Israel to be with you and to confirm our special relationship between our two countries and also if I can say between us," Letta said in a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres.
    Letta is scheduled to travel to the West Bank on Tuesday (July 2) to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
    Letta, a perceived right-wing presence in his centre-left Democratic Party, has been critical of Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank emulating the European Union's repeated condemnations of expansion plans.
    Letta is an urbane moderate who speaks fluent English and at 46 is one of Italy's youngest prime ministers, representing a generational change from the era of Silvio Berlusconi and outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register