European Jewish Press, Belgium
by: Yossi Lempkowicz
BRUSSELS (EJP) - The president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) has called on the European Union to do more to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability and posing a threat to the entire Middle East. Ronald S. Lauder held talks on Thursday in Brussels with EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana, the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. He called on European governments and businesses to show restraint in dealing with Iran and respect not just the letter, but also the spirit of the international sanctions regime.
“Unfortunately, some Western governments – but also China and Russia – have either deluded themselves that Tehran is a serious partner for negotiations, or have knowingly gone along with this fiction in pursuit of their own parochial economic and political interests,” Lauder declared after the talks. He urged the international community not to accept Tehran’s stonewalling tactics any longer: “Time is of essence. Europe should take the nuclear threat more seriously because Iran is continuously expanding the range and quality of its missiles.”
In the German newspaper ‘Financial Times Deutschland’, Lauder said: “A reality check and an honest evaluation of four years of intensive, but ineffective shuttle diplomacy are urgently required at this stage.”
In his EU meetings, the WJC president also said the European Union leadership should not put unilateral pressure on Israel.
“Europe needs to play a constructive role in solving the conflict in the Middle East and be an honest broker. However, it is clear that currently the Palestinians are unable, in the case of the Palestinian Authority, and unwilling, in the case of Hamas, to guarantee Israel’s safety and integrity, which has to be a crucial point in any peace agreement,” Lauder said.
