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ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS ON PRESIDENT KUCAN

Ljubljana, 21 August 2002


President of the Republic, Milan Kucan, received Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Bled today as part of the minister's official visit to Slovenia. The talks focused on bilateral relations between the two states and on the possibilities for increasing the scope of economic cooperation, while the central topic of discussion was the crisis in the Middle East.

Understanding the position of all those involved and the circumstances in the Middle East, the only possible way out of the crisis in President Kucan's opinion is for each side to assume responsibility for stopping the violence on the principle of ‘do not inflict unto others what you would not want inflicted to yourself’. Only this would reinstall the conditions for continuing the peace process that benefits all peoples and nations in the region, all of whom individually and jointly have the right to a safe and peaceful future, the President stated. The interlocutors agreed that with the great changes taking place in the world the Middle Eastern crisis had changed too, and that it is no longer the same as it used to be before 11 September. The legitimate endeavours of the Palestinian people for their own state and the Israelis' legitimate right to security have been overshadowed by acts of terror. The speakers agreed that an escalation of violence and military action could not resolve the crisis in the Middle East. A solution can only be a political one.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC

 

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