Israeli Acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami is to visit next week the United States, where he could hold talks with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Israeli public radio said Thursday.
The radio said the main aim of Ben Ami's visit is to attend a meeting of the Anti-Defamation League in New York where he will present "the Israeli position."
Press reports Thursday said the acting foreign minister will also attend the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation in Chicago on November 12.
Ben Ami has, however, not ruled out holding talks in the course of his visit with Albright and White House security chief Samuel Berger.
A spokesman for the minister's office refused to confirm or deny the report.
According to the radio, Ben Ami's proposed visit has caused anger within the opposition Likud party, whose leader Ariel Sharon is negotiating with Prime Minister Ehud Barak on the formation of a national emergency government to deal with a Palestinian uprising which has rocked the region since September 28.
The visit could cause Likud to stop negotiations, the radio said.
The rightwing party is opposed to peace talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat – JERUSALEM (AFP)
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