'Europe won't accept Israel shirking peace commitments'

Spain's foreign minister said Tuesday that Europe would not accept the evasion by Israel of previous commitments made in peace negotiations, according to former Meretz leader Yossi Beilin.

Beilin met with Miguel Moratinos in Madrid on Tuesday, where the former Israeli lawmaker was promoting the Geneva peace initiative.

He said the Spanish foreign minister was likely to visit Israel in the near future in an effort to prevent the breakdown of the peace process and to press the government to commit to previous agreements.

Moratinos' comments came after Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on last week that Western-backed peace efforts with the Palestinians had reached a "dead end" and that Israel intended to present new ideas for diplomacy.