Peres. To meet with Abbas
Photo: GPO
Peres says met with Palestinian prime minister
President tells chairman of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe he plans to meet with Palestinian President Abbas in near future; adds Europe's investment in Tehran's oil fields causing a lot of damage
Europe's investment in Tehran's oil fields is causing a lot of damage, President Shimon Peres told the chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Rene van der Linden, whom he met at his Jerusalem residence on Tuesday.
Peres told van der Linden that "Europe can prevent a war with Iran and serve as a stable defensive shield against Tehran's attempts to arm itself. It must coordinate a clear policy with the United States and Russia. Economic sanctions could prevent use of force."
"If Europe has decided to invest $10 billion in Iran's oil fields for good humanitarian reasons, the Ayatollahs in Iran will interpret that as clear support for Tehran's policy by the free world. Europe should avoid such an unnecessary investment," the president said.
Nuclear Issue
'If Iran is confronted by a united front, it will change,' president tells French daily, pointing out that Ukraine, Libya, South Africa and North Korea have already given up nuclear weapons due to international pressure
Addressing the Palestinian issue, Peres said that he planned to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the near future.
"It is clear that such a meeting is extremely significant in terms of diplomacy, and therefore this will be fully coordinated with the Prime Minister's Office," the president said in response to a reporter's question.
He added that he had met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad about two weeks ago, as well as with other officials, including chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
As for the continued isolation of the Gaza Strip, Peres told his guest that Europe must understand that Hamas is isolating itself by its own behavior.
"Hamas doesn’t want peace and continues to fire and terrorize Israel. It does not honor past agreements and does not recognize Israel. Europe cannot stand aloof and support Hamas, after Israel evacuated the entire area in the Gaza Strip and the firing of rockets at Israel continues."
Peres said, however, that Israel would continue to supply electricity, water and humanitarian equipment to the Palestinian Authority.
Van der Linden said that Europe was awaiting the US-sponsored summit scheduled to take place in the fall with optimism, and that it viewed the issue as an opportunity for advancing peace with Syria and other Arab countries, not only with the Palestinians.
There is a real opportunity here for a new channel of dialogue, also with the help of the European Parliament, he added.
