Israel’s Lapid puts Iran talks on table in meeting with Blinken
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is committed to repairing ties with the US administration and opening discrete dialogue channels on the Iranian file.
Meeting in Rome with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said he intends to mend the rift created by the Netanyahu government in Jerusalem’s relations with Washington. Speaking at a joint press conference, Lapid noted, “There is no relationship more important to Israel than the United States of America. There is no loyal friend of the United States of America than Israel. In the past few years, mistakes were made. Israel’s bipartisan standing was hurt. We will fix those mistakes together.”
Referring to negotiations with Iran, Lapid said, “We will have disagreements, but they are not about the essence; they’re all about how to get there. We want the same things. We sometimes disagree about how to achieve them. Israel has some serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal being put together in Vienna. We believe the way to discuss those disagreements is through direct and professional conversations, not in press conferences.”
