Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman assures the world of Tel Avivs influence on the White House and any new peace initiative. During his first comprehensive interview on foreign policy since taking office, Lieberman said the administration of US President Barack Obama would put forth new peace initiatives only if Israel wants it to. "Believe me, America accepts all our decisions," he told Russian daily Moskovskiy Komosolets. On the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, Lieberman repeated his criticism of a two-state solution as "a nice slogan that lacks substance."
During the years former prime minister Ehud Olmert controlled Israel, the two sides were generally deemed to have faint chances of moving toward the prospect of permanent peace due to Israeli efforts to stonewall the US-proposed process. The bid was also meaningfully marred by a three-week Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip and the killing of 1,500 Palestinians in September and January.
The ultra-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has put it straight that the idea of a Palestinian state stands no chance at all. Shortly after his installation as foreign minister, Lieberman rejected an agreement drawn up at the 2007 peace conference in Annapolis, calling it valueless. Many around the world -- and in Israel alike -- were left in a state of shock. Even though the Tuesday remarks by Lieberman confirm the extent of Israeli influence in US politics, they starkly contrast claims by Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin a day earlier. "The Obama administration is determined to take initiative and move forward central processes in the Middle East," Yadlin told ministers at a special cabinet meeting that focused on the dangers Obamas Middle East policy pose for Israel. Obamas intent, he said, is to "advance the peace process in the direction of realistic discussions with all parties including extremist elements."
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