Former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres arrived in India Thursday to lobby for support of Israel's stance on the Middle East peace process, following the breakdown of Camp David talks and Yasser Arafat's threat to declare a Palestinian state.
Indian foreign ministry spokesman Raminder Singh Jassal said Peres would stay in India until Sunday to "brief us on the latest situation."
Peres's visit follows last week's trip by Yasser Arafat to India, where he discussed the same issue with top Indian leaders, including President K.R. Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Arafat has threatened to unilaterally declare an independent Palestinian state on September 13th.
An Indian foreign office source said New Delhi supported "dialogue in the Middle East peace process" and underlined that "India was against any kind of unilateralizm."
He said Peres was scheduled to meet Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, main opposition leader Sonia Gandhi and deliver a lecture on the peace process at a prestigious New Delhi University - NEW DELHI (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
