Israel Calls for Support

Israel urged Germany to support further sanctions against arch foe Iran's nuclear program Thursday as German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Tel Aviv.

After holding talks with Steinmeier, Olmert said that Israel attached great importance to Germany's support for widening sanctions. "The prime minister stressed the importance he ascribes to Germany's strong support of the continued expansion of sanctions against Iran," Olmert's office said in a statement following the meeting.

Germany is one of six major powers involved in talks over Iran's nuclear program, which Israel and the West say is aimed at developing an atomic bomb, a claim denied by Tehran

At a news conference after his meeting with Olmert, Steinmeier raised the possibility of EU sanctions against Iran.

"Germany's position does not differ from that of the United States or some other European countries. If Iran refuses to provide answers, we should think about the possibility of European sanctions," he said.

Asked if Germany would support further sanctions, he said, "Yes, if what we are trying now is not successful, then we must not only think about sanctions, but also decide on them."

"The right way is the (United Nations) Security Council," he said, but if no agreement was reached there, one would have to think about European sanctions.

Olmert lobbies West for support in sanctions

The UN Security Council is expected to weigh new sanctions against Iran later this year, although Russia and China have both said they opposed further punitive steps. Olmert held talks with the leaders of Russia, France and Britain last month in an effort to win their support for new sanctions.

Israel sees the Iranian nuclear issue as a prime strategic threat, partly because of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statements that the Jewish state needs to be wiped off the map.

Israel is widely considered to be the Middle East's sole -- if undeclared -- nuclear-armed nation with an estimated 200 warheads and it considers Iran to be its chief enemy.

Steinmeier and Olmert also discussed the upcoming international meeting focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, slated to be held in Annapolis in the United States, later this month. Olmert said the meeting was an important milestone in "creating the needed umbrella to continue and to widen the existing 'peace' process between Israel and the Palestinians."

Steinmeier, Livni push for peace progress

The German Foreign Minister then held talks with his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni where the two continued discussions on the peace process.

Livni denied that Israel wants to drag out negotiations on Palestinian statehood, saying it rejected a Palestinian demand for a timetable which if not met could lead to new violence.

"Israel is not interested in buying time. That is not the case at all," she told a news conference in Tel Aviv after meeting with Steinmeier. She said past experience had taught that time tables proved impossible to fulfill, and this she said, could "afterward create violence and terrorism."

She added that she believed the Palestinians, preparing for meeting at Annapolis, "understand this as well."

Steinmeier said that "we are not in a decisive phase,” and he saw "great readiness" among the sides to seize "this window, this opportunity."

Asked about the upcoming conference, Steinmeier said Europe was willing to assist with financial help for the Palestinians. "We are offering to help. It's for the Israelis and Palestinians to tell us if they want it," he said.

He added that a German-initiated "European Action Plan" to support the Palestinian economy, education and security services sought to avoid wasting time and plan the allocation of donor funds in a timely and systematic manner, before the Annapolis meeting and a donors' conference scheduled for December.