Press release

Foreign Secretary meets Israeli Minister for International Relations

Foreign Secretary discusses Middle East Peace Process and Iran nuclear negotiations with Israeli Minister for International Relations.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
William Hague and Yuval Steinitz

Foreign Secretary William Hague and Israeli Minister for Intelligence, International Relations and Strategic Affairs, Yuval Steinitz, met today to discuss the Middle East Peace Process, Iran and bilateral relations. Their discussion focused on latest developments in the peace process and talks taking place in Vienna today on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Speaking after the meeting the Foreign Secretary said:

I was pleased to welcome Israeli Minister for International Relations, Yuval Steinitz, to London today. Bilateral relations with Israel are strong, reinforced by the Prime Minister’s warm and productive trip to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories last month.

Minister Steinitz’s visit comes at a critical juncture in the peace process. During our meeting, we discussed how to ensure that the negotiations are successful and reaffirmed our belief that the current process, led by US Secretary of State John Kerry, still provides the best means of ending the conflict once and for all. I urged Israel to continue to work with the US and Palestinians to find a way forward.

On Iran, in the context of negotiations taking place today and tomorrow in Vienna, we reaffirmed our common goal of securing a comprehensive agreement which meets our security and proliferation concerns. We reiterated that until then, sanctions must be enforced robustly. We agreed the importance of continuing our dialogue on these issues.

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Published 8 April 2014