U.S Secretary of State, John Kerry, held on Wednesday [October 23, 2013] a seven-hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Rome, and urged him to advance peace talks with the Palestinians, especially on core issues. The two also discussed the “Iranian file”. Kerry asked Netanyahu to demonstrate he is willing to work with President, Mahmoud Abbas, to reach a solution on core issues topped by borders, settlements, the Jordan Valley and border terminals with Jordan.
Israeli sources said those senior American and Israeli officials, including U.S Ambassador to Tel Aviv, Dan Shapiro, Israel’s new ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, Netanyahu’s National Security Advisor, Yossi Cohen, and Netanyahu’s Envoy, Yitzhak Molho, attended the meeting.
The sources added that Netanyahu said that Israel will not “jeopardize its security”, and will not change its stances regarding security arrangements under any agreement with the Palestinians.
Commenting on the Iranian file, Netanyahu said that a partial agreement between world powers and Iran should never be enough, adding that Iran “should not be allowed to keep its nuclear power”.
Commenting on the issue, Kerry said that not reaching an agreement with Iran, is better that reaching a bad agreement”.
The two officials, and their aides, discussed what was described as “regional threats”, and the need to coordinate U.S. and Israeli positions, especially regarding Iran, and “regional stability”.
The meeting lasted for seven hours before Netanyahu and his envoys flew back to Tel Aviv.
