Foreign Minister Giulio Andreotti flew to Israel on Tuesday, at the invitation of Premier Yitzhak Shamir. He also is scheduled to have talks with Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
Andreotti is the first senior European statesman to go to Jerusalem since Israel’s parliamentary elections a week ago. He is traveling in his capacity of chairman of the European Community’s Council of Ministers, a position that rotates every six months among the 12 nations that form the European Community.
Andreotti, a former prime minister, has been active for years in Middle East diplomacy. Less than a week ago, he had a 90-minute meeting in Rome with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat.
Andreotti supports Palestinian demands for a homeland, but insists on Israel’s right to exist in security.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
