MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Shimon Peres in Argentina proposes “a new relation for a new world”

Mrs. Kirchner and the Israeli president at Casa Rosada

Israeli President Shimon Peres met on Monday with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Shimon arrived on Sunday in Argentina, home to Latin America's biggest Jewish community for a two-day visit.

The 1994 Nobel Peace prize laureate, Peres is the first Israeli president in 20 years to visit Argentina. “We are not talking of extending an existing relationship but of starting a new one, for a new world” Peres said. His visit comes just ahead of a planned visit by Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.

On his speech Peres, who came to meet with Fernández de Kirchner to sign agreements and take part in an economic seminar, remarked that ”people should not forget the attacks against the Israeli embassy (1992) and the AMIA Jewish Centre (1994) in Buenos Aires, whose victims were not only Jewish“, and insisted that the whole world should pay real attention to ”Iran's nuclear programme.”

Shimon Peres is accompanied by a 40-strong business delegation and by Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov with the aim of boosting the relationship at a variety of levels. Apart from his fellow-president CFK, the Israeli Labour Party veteran (86) will be meeting with various important politicians and members of the local Jewish community. Peres will be addressing the Argentine Council for Argentine Relations (CARI) on Tuesday morning. .

Mrs. Kirchner addressed Peres by saying that ”for this country (Argentina), the peace in the Middle East is a fundamental question for a safe world“. Cristina also remarked that ”Argentina gives recognition to the Palestine Estate but also the right for Israel to live peacefully in its territory.”

During his visit Peres will be visiting a public square erected on the site of the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy, as well as the rebuilt Jewish cultural centre that was blown up in 1994.

Both attacks killed 107 people and despite years of investigation remain unsolved. Argentina blames the cultural centre bombing on Iran and has requested but failed to get the extradition of several Iranian officials for questioning.

The Delegation of Associations of Jewish Argentines said one of Peres' chief reasons for his visit to Argentina was to offset growing Iranian influence in the region.

Peres last week visited Brazil, where Abbas is also scheduled to arrive on Friday. At the end of the month Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is also expected by his peer Lula da Silva.

The Israeli president is expected to address a gathering of thousands of Jews in a Buenos Aires stadium before he leaves.

Amid stalled peace negotiation in the Middle East, Peres' visit comes only days ahead of Abbas' and coincides with a Palestinian announcement that they plan to ask for United Nations recognition of their independence.