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Lieberman: Israel to respect all neighbours who honour peace deals

Arab World Materials 22 February 2011 16:27 (UTC +04:00)

Israel will respect any Middle Eastern government that honours existing peace deals, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday, DPA reported.

"We never interfered in the internal policy of our neighbours ... We will respect every government and every choice of all our neighbours," Lieberman told journalists during a visit to Brussels.

Apprehension has risen in Israel over the popular uprisings sweeping the Arab world. The uprisings have already toppled Hosny Mubarak of Egypt, who was seen as a solid Israeli partner, and have led to warnings that radical anti-Israel forces could come to power instead.

With the expectation of free elections in Egypt later this year, some analysts have warned that a genuinely open vote could bring to power the Muslim Brotherhood, which has ties to militant anti-Israel movement Hamas.

Lieberman played down such fears, stressing that Israel would be willing to work with any government which honours the 32-year-old peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.

"Our expectation is that our neighbours will respect all agreements that we signed in the past ... So far, what we hear, it doesn't matter which government or leadership will take power, everybody respects all the agreements," he said.

Lieberman was speaking after annual talks with European Union officials.

His press conference was briefly delayed when an activist attempted to carry out a citizen's arrest on him, shouting that Israel is an "apartheid" state. Security guards were quick to remove him from the scene.

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