Last update - 00:00 13/12/2006
Merkel: Military option 'not on the table' over Iran
By Yossi Verter, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press
BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, after meeting here with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, that the time has come to work vigorously to impose sanctions on Iran that will lead Tehran to stop enriching uranium, but rejected the military option.
Merkel said at a press conference after the meeting that "for me, a military solution is not on the table - I have said that."
"It is all the more important for me that we explore every possibility - from offers to sanctions - to truly exhaust the diplomatic possibilities for a solution," she said.
Olmert said that Israel is not necessarily calling for a military operation either, and both stressed the need for Tehran to be prevented from developing nuclear weapons.
If current international efforts "are consistent and firm, there is a good chance of bringing about the outcome that we seek," Olmert said. The prime minister said he has long preferred a compromise, as long as it prevents Iran from crossing the technology threshold that would allow it to produce a nuclear bomb.
In a briefing for Israeli journalists, Olmert said the United States was already taking economic steps that don't require United Nations approval, like limiting international credit lines and making foreign trade with Iran difficult. And as a result of the steps Germany has taken, trade between it and Iran decreased by 12 percent in the past year, he said.
"If we can have a negative impact on the Iranians' quality of life, it will bring us closer to the result we hope for," said Olmert. "There is no time. We must act all the time to foil any possibility that Iran will attain nuclear capability. The lack of time is inherent to the scope of the threat."
Merkel and Olmert also mentioned Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. "Israel is making an exceptional effort to launch a serious dialogue with the Palestinians, and for this the principles of the road map are the basis for this dialogue," Olmert said at the press conference.
Merkel praised Olmert for his recent Sde Boker speech, in which he called for negotiations with the Palestinians, and said she was disappointed that Germany's efforts have not yet led to the release of the two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah last summer. She also said she sent the German foreign minister to Syria a week ago - a move Olmert has criticized - in the hope that his visit would yield positive results, but that the signs from Damascus are not cause for optimism.
Olmert said Israel has received a clear sign that captive soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted near Gaza, is alive, but has not received any such signs regarding the two soldiers kidnapped in the North.
Merkel criticized both Iran and Syria for failing to play a constructive role in wider attempts to find a lasting, peaceful solution for the Middle East. Germany, along with the UN Security Council's five permanent members, has led efforts to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment. The six powers are currently trying to agree on proposed sanctions against Iran, which insists its nuclear program is peaceful and has resisted efforts to pressure it to modify it so it can't produce arms.