Israeli FM lauds Canadian stance on 1967 lines at G8 summit

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman thanked his new Canadian counterpart, John Baird, on his country's opposition at final week's G8 summit to Israel- Palestinian talks according to the 1967 cease-fire lines.

Lieberman said Canada was a "true friend of Israel," and that Ottawa, "through a appropriate studying of the scenario comprehend that the 1967 lines had been incompatible with both defensible borders for Israel and demographic realities," reported local everyday Ha' aretz on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper vote against an announcement on Friday by G8 member nations that would have supported such a vote,

The vote was based on a current foreign policy address by United states President Barack Obama's calling for Israel to pull back civilian and military forces for the pre-1967 lines, as well as territorial swaps.

"The Canadians had been definitely pretty adamant, though Obama expressly referred to 1967 borders in his speech final week," an European diplomat was quoted by The Jerusalem Post as saying.

Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and also the U.S. make up the G8 states. The group devoted two days of discussion towards the problem in the course of their existing session, held in France.

Harper convinced the members to create no mention of the matter in their final communique, which is reached by a consensual vote.

Obama was intended to foil a Palestinian threat to go directly to the United Nations Common Assembly in September. Israel demands that any independent Palestinian state come about as a result of direct negotiations and not because of an end-run through the UN, and that Fatah abandon a recently-reached accord with former rival Hamas.

Israel, the European Union, as well as the U.S. maintain that Hamas can be a terrorist organization, and Israel has said it will not negotiate with all the Islamist group, which opposes Israel's existence.

Netanyahu phoned Harper soon after the former's address to the American Congress last week, according to Israel officials.

The final version from the communique stated that "Negotiations are the only way toward a comprehensive and lasting resolution towards the conflict. The framework for these negotiations is very well known. We urge each parties to return to substantive talks with a view to concluding a framework agreement on all final-status problems. To that effect, we express our strong support for the vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace outlined by President Obama on Could 19, 2011," devoid of mentioning the 1967 lines.

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