Lieberman: Peace process a ‘waste of money’

Date: 06 / 05 / 2009  Time:  12:27
Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies -

 Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has dismissed the peace process as a “waste of money” during his first visit to Europe in his new post.

"Nothing has come from this whole 'peace industry' except for conferences in five-star hotels and a waste of money," Lieberman told his Italian counterpart, Franco Frattini, during a meeting in Rome on Monday, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Lieberman repeated his view that "two states for two peoples" had become a clichéd slogan designed for the media.

"This is a process with no results," Lieberman said, according to Haaretz, "Everyone is earning a living off of it. There are conferences and there are meetings in five-star hotels. Do you know how much money has been spent on this? And what has come of it?"

Lieberman spoke glowingly of the "Cypriot model," which would include a population exchange, as a potential solution to the Middle East conflict. The Island was partitioned in the 1970s, separating Turks in the north and Greeks in the south.

"Since then, there has been security, economic prosperity, and stability," Lieberman said of Cyprus, according to Haaretz. "When we have [such a solution] in our region then we can talk about a political solution. Everything before this will simply fail."

(This is a reference to his vision of population transfer, according to which he would force Palestinian citizens of Israel out of Israel, in order to keep it as a pure Jewish state).

In France on Tuesday, Lieberman was told by French counterpart Bernard Kouchner that Israel must halt construction of settlements in the West Bank. Lieberman is a resident of the settlement of Nokdim, near Bethlehem.

"Bernard Kouchner recapitulated France's expectations, in particular concerning the creation of a viable Palestinian state coexisting in peace and security with Israel," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, according to AFP.

"He underlined the urgent need to restart negotiations with this objective in mind," said the statement issued after Lieberman met Kouchner in Paris.

As he arrived for the meeting a crowd of pro-Palestine protesters denounced Lieberman as a “fascist.”