Min. Cowen discusses Mideast process with Israeli Foreign Min. – EU press release/Non-UN document

Minister Cowen discusses Middle East Peace Process with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in Dublin

Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Brian Cowen T.D. met with Israel's Foreign Minister, Mr. Silvan Shalom in Dublin earlier today. This was Minister Cowen's second meeting with Minister Shalom since the beginning of Ireland's Presidency.

At a press conference after the meeting, Minister Cowen said:

"I am very pleased to welcome Foreign Minister Shalom to Dublin and to continue the discussions we had in Tel Aviv last month. In the intervening period, further horrific violence, including last weekend's suicide bomb attack, has only reinforced my view that inaction is not an option for the Middle East. We must move forward together.

Our discussion today focused heavily on the Middle East Peace Process and our concerns on the absence of progress in that Process.  I stressed the urgent need for action by both sides, starting with small, concrete and visible steps drawn from the Roadmap. An early meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers should also take place.

I briefed Minister Shalom on the Council meeting last Monday, where European Foreign Ministers discussed the Middle East in some depth. Minister Shalom informed me on the proposals by the Israeli Government for withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

I outlined the five conditions which the Council agreed would be necessary for the Gaza withdrawal to gain international support.  They are that

· it must be in the context of the Roadmap;

· it must be a step toward a two State solution;

· it must not involve a transfer of settlement activity to the West Bank;

· there must be an organised and negotiated handover to the Palestinian Authority;

· and Israel must facilitate the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Gaza.

I would hope to visit the region again later in the Presidency."

Minister Cowen will meet US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington on Monday and the Middle East Peace Process will be one of the key subjects of their discussions.