President Obama expressed his opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian matter, saying that he expected direct peace talks to get underway soon. He even named a time period, indicating that it should happen within three months.
His confidence on the matter comes on the back of what evidently was a successful meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After the meeting, Obama was full of praise for Netanyahu, stating that he was doing a good job in dealing with a complex situation. He also said that he trusted the Israeli Prime Minister from his last visit to Israel. That statement was in reference to the visit he made to Israel while he was a Senator.
The relationship with Israel has been slightly strained in recent times, due to the construction process that was in progress in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. However, Netanyahu has put a temporary stop to it and it is due to resume only towards the end of September. The Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, appeared to support Obama’s claim of peace talks. Speaking to reporters in Lithuania, he said that he envisioned direct talks taking place around the September period.
The two leaders also spoke on a variety of other matters including the Iran issue. Netanyahu was the one doing the praising this time around; claiming that the sanctions that Obama had signed had a lot of bite. They also discussed the upcoming Middle East nuclear conference in 2012. Obama has vowed to defend Israel against any witch hunts during that conference.