KUWAIT: German Chancellor Angela Merkel says a resolution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is key to peace in the Middle-East

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Kuwait on Tuesday (January 6), the final destination of her trip to the Gulf region, to hold talks with the country's Emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and the Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah. Merkel arrived in Kuwait from United Arab Emirates. She is on a brief tour of the region as part of a drive to re-energise peace efforts in the Middle East during Germany's European Union (EU) presidency. Arab states are interested in a lasting peace with Israel and stability in the Middle East, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today as she wrapped up a four-day tour of the region. "I await now for the talks which will take place this week in Saudia Arabia between Fatah and Hamas, that those talks will lead to progress in the internal fighting in the areas governed by the Palestinian Authority - so that there is a chance to have a government of national unity. We agreed that the conflict between Israel and the area governed by the Palestinian Authority is central and the solution very important as it will have an affect on all other conflicts in the region," Merkel said at a news conference in Kuwait. Merkel went on to say an offer had made to Iran and despite no real result in discussions the door for negotiations remains open. "In our view, of course it's very important Iran remains a member of the international community and this is why we have made this offer to Iran. We would have expected Iran to negotiate. There were many talks but no real result - no real answer to this offer. We are very disappointed but we keep saying that even though we have implemented sanctions through the UN that the door for negotiations remains open." Germany took over the rotating presidencies of the EU and Group of Eight industrialised nations in January, and has made the peace process a priority. ENDS

ITN Source | February 6, 2007

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