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US Vice President Joe Biden waves - Source: Reuters -
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US Vice President Joe Biden has assured Israel of Washington's
commitment to its security and preventing Iran from producing
nuclear weapons.
He said the agreed resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks through
US mediation was a "real opportunity" for peace.
Biden, who arrived on Tuesday, is the highest-ranking member of
President Barack Obama's administration to visit Israel, where
concern is high over Iran's nuclear programme.
"We're determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons
and we're working with many countries around the world to convince
Tehran to meet its international obligations and cease and desist,"
Biden said after a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.
"There is no space between the United States and Israel when it
comes to Israel's security," Biden said as the two leaders made
statements to the media.
Netanyahu voiced appreciation for what he described as Obama's
efforts to lead the international community to place tough
sanctions on Iran.
"The stronger those sanctions are, the more likely it will be that
the Iranian regime will have to chose between advancing its nuclear
programme and advancing the future of its own permanence,"
Netanyahu said.
Israeli political sources expect Biden to make clear, as other US
officials have done, that Obama wants no strike on Iran, notably by
Israel, while Washington seeks to curb Tehran's nuclear programme
by means of sanctions.
Netanyahu, whose country is widely believed to be the Middle East's
only nuclear power, has called for strong sanctions to cripple
Iran's trade in oil and gas. Iran has denied it is seeking atomic
weapons, saying it only wants nuclear power.
Peace talks
Biden's visit coincided with Palestinian and Israeli agreement, in
meetings with Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell this week,
to resume peace talks suspended since December 2008, amid
scepticism about their chances for success.
"I think we are at a moment of real opportunity," Biden said at an
earlier meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres.
He plans to see Palestinian leaders in the occupied West Bank on
Wednesday.
In his statement at the meeting with Netanyahu, Biden said that
both Israel and the Palestinians would have to "make some
historically bold commitments" to achieve peace.
Netanyahu, in pledging to work with Washington to reach a peace
deal with the Palestinians, repeated a key Israeli condition that
they recognise Israel as a Jewish state - a demand they have
rejected.
He said any peace accord must guarantee Israel's security "for
generations to come".
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