January 26, 2006
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the Israel and the Palestinian territories next Sunday and Monday for talks, the German government said on Tuesday. In her first trip to the region since taking office in November, Merkel is expected to raise concerns about the recent anti-Semitic outbursts of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Tehran's decision to resume sensitive nuclear work. Germany, France and Britain have been negotiating with Tehran for more than two years amid Western concerns that the Islamic Republic is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Germany said that it was trying to find a peaceful resolution to the stand-off. The European troika earlier this month called for the matter to be referred to the United Nations Security Council, a step opposed by Moscow and Beijing. On Tuesday, Merkel had held talks in Berlin with the Chairman of the World Jewish Congress' Policy Council, Israel Singer, with Iran also being center-stage.
