Outgoing ambassador to US says J'lem-Washington relations will stay strong

A day after announcing his resignation amid reported concerns about his waning influence under Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli Ambassador to the US Sallai Meridor said Friday that despite the expected emergence of a narrow, right-wing Israeli government, he was not worried about a possible deterioration in Jerusalem-Washington relations. "I have no doubt that there will be an Israeli-American effort to work together in order to advance joint interests, which concern the Iranian nuclear threat, the fight against terror and the progress of the Middle East peace process," Meridor told Army Radio.