TEL AVIV, November 16 (Sputnik) – Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman called on the European Union not to link Israel-EU relations to Israel-Palestine conflict, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
"FM Liberman said that there is no place to create a linkage between the Israel-EU bilateral relationship to the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians," the ministry said after Liberman's meeting in Jerusalem with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
According to the ministry, Liberman added that attempts to establish such a connection were based on a "misguided approach" that did not facilitate the stability in the region and improvement of the relations between Israel and Palestine.
The Israeli foreign minister also expressed his appreciation of Steinmeier's personal contribution to the strengthening of Israel-Germany relations.
"FM Liberman also said that Israel deeply appreciates Germany's balanced and responsible approach to the conflict in the region, especially with regard to the relations between Israel and the Palestinians," Israel's Foreign Ministry said.
Palestinians and Israelis have been in the state of confrontation for several decades, with the control of Jerusalem being one of the main stumbling blocks for the two nations.
Palestinians seek to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, partially occupied by Israel, as well as on the Gaza Strip. Palestine designated Jerusalem as its capital and has called on Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories it took after the 1967 war.
