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Netanyahu meets Pompeo in Warsaw

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this morning at the US-led Warsaw summit on peace and security in the Middle East.

Netanyahu said at the start of the meeting: “I want to thank Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence and the Trump administration for putting together an extraordinary conference. Yesterday was a historical turning point. In a room of some sixty foreign ministers and representatives of dozens of governments, an Israeli prime minister and the foreign ministers of leading Arab countries stood together and spoke with unusual force, clarity and unity against the common threat of the Iranian regime.”

Yesterday Netanyahu met Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi. In a video released by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, Netanyahu said to bin Alawi: “It’s a delight to see you again. I have to tell you that the courageous decision of Sultan Qaboos to invite me to Oman is changing the world. It’s pointing the way for many others to do what you said, not to be stuck in the past but to seize the future.”

Oman does not formally recognise Israel. Nor do Saudi Arabia and UAE, or many of the other Middle Eastern countries attending the summit, most of whom share Israel’s concerns about Iranian actions in the region. Speaking to Netanyahu, bin Alawi said: “People in the Middle East have suffered a lot because they have stuck to the past. Now we say, this is a new era, for the future.”

After the meeting Netanyahu told Israeli media: “We discussed additional steps we can take together with the countries of the region in order to advance common interests. This will continue. What is important about this meeting – and it is not in secret, because there are many of those – is that this is an open meeting with representatives of leading Arab countries, that are sitting down together with Israel in order to advance the common interest of combating Iran.” Bin Alawi visited Israel twice last year, in February and October.

At the opening dinner last night, US Vice President Mike Pence said: “Tonight I believe we are beginning a new era, with Prime Minister Netanyahu from the State of Israel, with leaders from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, all breaking bread together, and later in this conference sharing honest perspectives on the challenges facing the area.”

US President Donald Trump’s senior aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner is also attending with the US envoy for international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt. The two are set discuss the economic aspects of the US plan to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks with Netanyahu and Arab leaders.