(Communicated by the Foreign Minister’s Bureau)
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman met on Monday evening (1 February 2010) with Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Miguel Moratinos. Liberman told his counterpart that Israel is looking forward to working together with Spain while it holds the rotating Presidency of the European Union.
The two foreign ministers discussed ways to upgrade the relations between Israel and the EU and to work in cooperation on projects for the benefit of the Middle East. Liberman thanked Moratinos for Spain’s support of Israel's joining the OECD. They also discussed Iran’s nuclear program and other topics of regional interest.
FM Liberman gave FM Moratinos a copy of Israel's response to the UN Secretary General concerning the Goldstone report and told him that Israel is a democratic country that protects its citizens in accordance with international law. The Israeli Defense Forces have the highest standards of morality of any army in the world, a fact demonstrated when it confronts the worst type of terrorists and makes supreme efforts to avoid harming innocent civilians who are used by Hamas as human shields.
FM Liberman also met with Czech Minister of Defense Martin Bartak. The two discussed regional security issues and the problem of global terrorism.