(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman met on Friday morning (3 January 2014) with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Jerusalem. Earlier he met with Senators John Mccain and John Barasso.
 
FM Liberman expressed his deep appreciation for the efforts that Secretary Kerry is investing to achieve an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians and to foster calm in the region.

FM Liberman noted that any agreement between Israel and the Palestinians must be based on the strong foundations of security for Israel and a stable economy for the Palestinians. He added that even if all the currently outstanding problems and differences between the parties are resolved, there are issues which will arise afterwards, and these too need to be addressed. It is reasonable to assume that after an agreement is reached, other countries in the region will want to transfer Palestinians currently living in these countries to the areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority, thus adding an additional three million refugees to the 800,000 current residents of the PA. This will create a difficult humanitarian situation, leading again to possible frustration, violence and security problems.

FM Liberman stressed the importance of continued dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians.