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WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Monday held crucial talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which highlighted divisions on confronting Iran and the notion of a Palestinian state.
The two leaders met at the White House for an intense first summit which stretched an hour over its allotted time of two hours, coming amid signs of tension between two allies with new leaders at the helm.
Obama said that Iran must show it is committed to progress in nuclear talks by the end of the year, while Netanyahu graphically described his fears that a nuclear-armed Iran could pose an existential threat to his nation.
The US president meanwhile praised Netanyahu's "historic" vision, renewed his call for a Palestinian state which the Israeli leader has yet to endorse, and said Israeli West Bank settlements must be "stopped."
Netanyahu, sitting feet from Obama in the Oval Office, stopped short of talking of a future Palestinian state, in friendly but frank exchanges in front of the cameras.
Obama said that US diplomacy with Iran would likely not get far until after the Iranian elections in June.
But he added: "We are not going to have talks forever," addressing Israel's fear that Iran will prolong diplomacy for months just to give it more time to build nuclear weapons.
"My expectation would be that if we begin discussions soon, shortly after the Iranian elections, we should have a fairly good sense by the end of the year as to whether they are moving in the right direction," Obama said.
Netanyahu warned that the "worst danger" Israel faces was Iran with nuclear weapons.
"Iran openly calls for our destruction, which is unacceptable," he said.
Obama also pressed Netanyahu on his vow to work towards a Palestinian state.
"I believe it is in the interest not only of the Palestinians but also the Israelis and the United States and the international community to achieve a two-state solution," Obama said.
Netanyahu did not mention the word "state" and said the two sides should not get hung up on "terminology" warning of dire consequences if the West Bank fell, like Gaza, under control of the Hamas Islamic organisation.
But he hailed Obama as a "great leader" and pledged he was ready to open talks with the Palestinians "immediately."
"I want to make it clear that we don't want to govern the Palestinians - we want to live in peace with them," Netanyahu said.
"We want them to govern themselves absent a handful of powers that could endanger the state of Israel."
"The goal has to be an end to conflict. There'll have to be compromises by Israelis and Palestinians alike. We're ready to do our share. We hope the Palestinians will do their share as well."
The White House meeting marked Obama's most testing diplomatic challenge yet after he made clear that he would push for a peace deal based on a Palestinian state and seek to defuse Iran's nuclear drive with diplomacy.
Netanyahu, at the head of a hawkish Israeli governing coalition, is working on his own regional policy, focused on countering Iran.
Netanyahu was also set to have a working dinner with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton later Friday, and to hold talks with national security advisor James Jones.
His visit was the latest in a string of visits of Middle Eastern leaders to the White House in the run-up to Obama's long-awaited address to the Muslim world in Cairo on June 4.
Obama has already hosted Jordan's King Abdullah II and will meet Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the next few weeks. - AFP/de
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