Ron Dermer, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s senior adviser, traveled to
Washington this week with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, fueling speculation that
even as the situation in Egypt is keeping the Israeli- Palestinian track off the
front burner, diplomatic maneuvering is taking place behind the scenes to try
and renew negotiations.
Along with Netanyahu’s envoy Yitzhak Molcho,
Dermer is a central player in the triangular Israel-US-Palestinian
dialogue.
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Terra Incognita: Careful what we wish forEver since the Egyptian crisis erupted a little more than two
weeks ago, there has been little public contact between US officials and their
Israeli or Palestinian counterparts either in the region or in
Washington.
Barak, however, met Wednesday in Washington for a
75- minute
meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert
Gates and National Security Adviser Tom Donilon.
A statement after the
meeting said the discussions focused on the situation in Egypt, Lebanon and
Tunisia, and also touched on Turkey and the status of the negotiations with the
Palestinians.
Prior to his meeting at the White House, Barak also met
with congressional leaders, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and US
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, and emphasized the importance of continued
congressional support for aid to Israel, amid calls to cut US foreign aid across
the board.
Barak is scheduled to return on Friday.
In a related
diplomatic development, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou
promised to help
Israel repair strained ties with the European Union, as part of a drive to
promote investment in the crisis-hit country.
On Thursday, Papandreou’s
ministers of foreign affairs, investment, public order, tourism and defense held
meetings with a delegation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American
Jewish Organizations in what was widely considered an effort to attract
investments from the Jewish American leaders.
Papandreou also said Athens
could help Israel gain access to European markets. After the meetings in Greece,
the Conference of Presidents will be coming to Israel for its annual meeting
beginning Sunday.
“We see the [European] market expanding to the
Mediterranean and certainly we would like to integrate Israel into this European
market,” Papandreou said. “I think this is vital for Israel’s economy but also
for its strategic security.”
Israel and Greece have dramatically improved
ties over the last year, a move prodded to a great deal by the deterioration in
Israeli-Turkish ties.
Papandreou said Greece was seeking cooperation in
tourism, agriculture, defense and hi-tech innovation with Israel, and said the
two countries would hold a joint cabinet meeting in Israel in
April.
Officials in Israel and Greece say also the two countries are
holding preliminary talks on potential energy deals involving newly discovered
Israeli offshore natural gas deposits.
Papandreou said Greece would use
its influence to call on Egypt to continue to observe its peace agreements with
Israel. He said Greece would urge the EU to help Egypt build democratic
institutions, drawing on its experience in post-communist Eastern
Europe.
“Democracy has many building blocks so this will be a process
which needs help, care and understanding and perseverance,” Papandreou
said. “And here Europe has a huge experience.”
AP contributed to
this report.