Avraham Tamir, director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, met here Monday evening with China’s ambassador to the United Nations, Li Lu Ye.
China does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and meetings between officials of the two countries are rare.
According to sources here the meeting lasted more than 90 minutes and focused on the current situation in the Middle East.
The Chinese ambassador told Tamir that his country is interested in bringing about a settlement to the Middle East conflict, and that China will not stand in the way of any comprehensive settlement in the region.
Tamir later told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations that despite the decision by King Hussein of Jordan to break ties with the West Bank, a final solution of the Palestinian issue cannot be found without the participation of Jordan.
Tamir contended that Hussein acted out of “frustration that the high expectations resulting from his talks in London with then premier Shimon Peres two years ago had led only to a stalemate.”
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