Israel and America share the same values even if they sometimes disagree on policy, Lapid tells Blinken

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Israel and the United States share the same basic values even if they may disagree on how to achieve their goals, Israeli Foreign Minister told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a meeting in Rome on Sunday, the Jerusalem Post reports. America is Israel’s most important and loyal ally, Lapid reiterated, adding that the two countries’ new governments come from a very long and strong tradition of close friendship and cooperation.

The Iran deal was at the top of the Rome meeting agenda, as the US continues indirect talks with the Iranian regime about returning to the 2015 agreement, the Jerusalem Post reports. “Israel has some serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal being put together in Vienna,” Lapid told Blinken. Acknowledging current differences in the approach to the deal, Lapid said the two nations should address disagreements on the way forward in private. “We believe the way to discuss those disagreements is through direct and professional conversations, not in press conferences,” Lapid asserted.

For his part, Blinken affirmed the continuing closeness of the US-Israel relationship, asserting that it is “based… on a set of shared values and shared interests.” Moreover, Blinken said, US President Joe Biden “feels very, very strongly about… a deep, enduring, abiding commitment on the part of the United States to Israel’s security.”

In regard to the issue of peace, Lapid thanked the US for brokering the Abraham Accords normalization deals between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, the Jerusalem Post reports. Lapid told Blinken: “I look forward to working with you to widen the circle of peace in our region,” he said. “That is the best way to bring stability and prosperity to the Middle East.”

Concerning the Abraham Accords, Blinken said: “hopefully there’ll be other participants.” However, Blinken reminded that the Accords have not solved the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: “I think we’ve also discovered, or perhaps rediscovered, that as important as they are, as vital as they are, they are not a substitute for engaging on the issues between Israelis and Palestinians that need to be resolved,” Blinken said.

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