Thursday, May 8, 2014

US security adviser meets Israel leaders amid spy claims

US security adviser meets Israel leaders amid spy claims: US National Security Adviser Susan Rice met Israeli leaders Wednesday after the collapse of US-brokered Middle East peace talks and amid allegations Israel was spying on its principal ally.

Rice started her visit by meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"They discussed a wide range of regional and bilateral issues, including the United States and Israel's close security cooperation, which has been unprecedented under President Obama's leadership," a White House statement said.

"On Iran, Ambassador Rice... reiterated that the United States will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that diplomacy is the best way to resolve the international community's concerns peacefully," it added.

She also met Israeli President Shimon Peres and on Thursday is to call on Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"Looking forward to robust and intensive consultations," Rice wrote earlier in the day on her official Twitter account.

"Our security cooperation with Israel has never been stronger."

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday "categorically" denied allegations published in Newsweek magazine that his country was engaged in spying on US soil.