Parliament Speaker Luka Bebic on Monday met with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman for talks on Croatian-Israeli relations and the Middle East peace process, Bebic's office said in a press release.
The two officials concluded that Croatian-Israeli relations in recent years had been very good and friendly.
"Croatia sees in Israel a valuable partner and friend, as shown also by the excellent cooperation on the multilateral front. Our countries can do much more in becoming closer economically and I hope cooperation in science and culture will intensify," Bebic said.
Lieberman congratulated Bebic on Croatia's 20th independence anniversary and the forthcoming completion of accession negotiations with the European Union. He said Croatia would be a good and reliable partner as a future EU member.
Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Bebic expressed concern about the stalemate in the peace process as well as hope that direct negotiations would resume as soon as possible. He stressed the current unrest in the region should not put the peace process on the back burner and that Croatia, as a future member, would pursue the EU's policy and, as much as it could, contribute to a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
