The working lunch will take place just before an informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers.Topics of discussion will be the Middle East Peace Process, the situation in the region and EU-Israel relations, the German EU presidency said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi is meeting the 27 EU Foreign Ministers in Berlin for a working lunch on the sidelines of a two-day informal gathering of the 27 EU Foreign Ministers in the German capital.
The meeting will be hosted by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. Germany currently assumes the rotating chairmanship of the European Union.
The working lunch will take place just before the informal ministerial meeting. Topics of discussion will be the Middle East Peace Process, the situation in the region and EU-Israel relations, the German EU presidency said.
It is the first time Ashkenazi meets his EU counterparts since his nomination last May. It is also his first trip abroad.
”Europe is a major player for the globe and is important for Israel,” Ashkenazi said before the meeting. ”I hope that this meeting will be a good start to have a better to have a better dialogue with Europe,” he added.
He also asked the European countries to prevent the expiration of a UN arms embargo on Iran on October 18. An extension of the embargo is needed to prevent Iran for getting ”more advanced weapons systems and spreading them around the Middle East.”
The meeting with the 27 ministers takes place a few days after Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced an agreement to normalize their relations, a step that was welcomed by the European Union.
”It’s a good opportunity to hear from the Israeli minister about the latest developments,” said Slovak Foreign Minister, Ivan Korčok, as he arrived at the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva also said she was pleased with the meeting with Minister Ashkenazi. ”Bulgaria has always called for a dialogue between the EU and Israel, especially at this important moment,” she declared.
European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, who represents the Commission at the meeting, said: ”I welcome the fact that Israel has, together with the U.S., manage to broker an agreement with the United Arab Emirates. ”It is a welcome sign in the Middle East and for the peace process as well. And I also welcome the fact that in that there are clear messages when it comes to the annexation.”
On Tuesday, Ashkenazi hosted British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab in Jerusalem. During the meeting, the two discussed bilateral issues, including trade ties following Britain’s exit from the EU. They also discussed regional issues including the Iranian threat, the situation in Lebanon including the entrenchment and increasing power of Hezbollah and the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
Ashkenazi declared that the historic agreement with the United Arab Emirates ‘’is proof that we are able to achieve peace through direct negotiations between countries. We hope that more countries in the Middle East will join the process.”
The British Foreign Minister has called the agreement ‘’a much-needed boost for peace’’ and welcomed ‘’the suspension of annexation plans’’, sating it’s ‘’time for direct talks between the Palestinians and Israel, the only route to lasting peace.’’