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Why the Rivlin-Abbas meeting didn't take place

European Union leaders consider President Reuven Rivlin one of the only liberal voices within the Israeli right-wing camp.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker poses with Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin (L) at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, June 23, 2016.    REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RTX2HRIE
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BRUSSELS — European leaders had high hopes for Israeli President Reuven Rivlin’s June 20-23 visit to Brussels, and none of them tried to hide it. Almost all of the meetings stretched longer than scheduled, and the welcoming phrases were always warm and personal. ''I know that today we have here not only the president of Israel, but also our good friend — and our discussions today showed that it is true,'' said European Council President Donald Tusk after his encounter with Rivlin.

Indeed, the scope of Rivlin's visit was practically unprecedented. Crisscrossing the Belgian capital, Rivlin met successively with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, Belgian King Philippe, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, and the EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. In between, Rivlin was also welcomed at the European Parliament, where he gave an address in Hebrew.

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