Prop up the Middle East's middle class today, and tomorrow it will be much easier to solve intractable political problems, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told a gathering of European foreign ministers on Tuesday.
Speaking in Vilnius to a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Lieberman said a successful middle class was the backbone of a healthy society, and that its formation was essential in establishing societies that reject violence as a way to solve problems, both domestically and internationally.
Lieberman said the European experience has shown the more successful a country's middle class is, the more successful and stable that country is itself. As a result, he suggested international efforts in the Middle East focus on economic development and building up the middle class.
