Lieberman to EU: Recall your ambassadors from Syria

In meeting with German FM, Lieberman says "Assad should resign as early as possible"; Westerwelle reiterates support for peace talks.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
FM Lieberman and German FM Westerwelle 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
FM Lieberman and German FM Westerwelle 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman addressed the deteriorating situation situation in Syria during a meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle at the Foreign Ministry Jerusalem on Tuesday.
"[Syrian] President Bashar Assad must resign as quickly as possible," the foreign minister said. "Also without the [UN] Security Council, my expectations from the European Union" are to see real action on the ground against the Assad regime.
"We expect that European states will withdraw their ambassadors from Syria." Expressing his own fears about the situation, Lieberman added, "All normal people are worried about the situation in Syria."
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Earlier Tuesday in Ramallah, Westerwelle reiterated his support of renewed negotiations in the Middle East peace process, saying unilateral moves would be "very counterproductive," German news site The Local reported.
After talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah, Westerwelle did not mention specifically the contentious Palestinian state bid scheduled for this September at the United Nations, but emphasized that "negotiations should be the way."
"Germany supports a two-state solution. We support the Palestinian people in having an independent state," The Local cited Westerwelle as saying.
Berlin had already expressed support for a two-state solution based on negotiated compromises and not on unilateral moves. Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she supported US President Barack Obama's vision for a two-state solution based on lines from before the 1967 Six-Day War with mutually agreed concessions.
After meeting Westerwelle, Fayyad said that his government was not seeking simply recognition at the UN in September, but is looking for a "genuine state of Palestine, and one that is fully sovereign" WAFA reported.
While France, Spain, and other European countries have said they would recognize a Palestinian State, Germany has said that it would not until a an inclusive peace deal is signed with Israel.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report