And rightly so.
(INN) President Peres has politely suggested that the European Union to step out of Middle Eastern affairs while delicate negotiations are in process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Peres offered the advice in his remarks at a reception welcoming him to Latvia, organized by Latvian President Andris Berzins.
The Israeli president, who is also visiting Lithuania, thanked Latvia for helping to convince the European Union to list the military wing of the Hizbullah terror organization as a terrorist entity. But Peres also criticized the EU for blocking financial aid to Israeli institutions located in Judea, Samaria and areas of Jerusalem restored to the capital following the 1967 Six Day War.
Peres noted that such a restriction was harmful to the peace process, and emphasized that such negotiations should be left up to the parties involved, adding that the talks should be allowed to develop at their own pace, without further interference.
The best thing that Europeans can do at this point, Israel’s president said, is to exercise restraint, because this is the best way to demonstrate support for the complex talks that comprise the peace process. If fruitful, if he said, they will at last bring an end to the Israel-PA conflict.
