Shalev: Our Main Goal in NY is to Focus on I.R. Iran

The Jerusalem Post

As foreign heads of state converge at the UN General Assembly this week, Israeli leaders and diplomats will focus on the Iranian threat in speeches, high-level meetings and bilateral talks, while boycotting a speech by Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A major focus of participating leaders will be Thursday's summit-level Security Council meeting, to be chaired by US President Barack Obama, which will focus on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, set to arrive in New York late Monday, also has a busy schedule that includes meeting with Obama and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday and addressing the General Assembly on Thursday. Netanyahu will not be present when Ahmadinejad addresses the gathering on Wednesday. "Our main goal at this crucial time is to show the world how dangerous Iran is," said Ambassador Gabriela Shalev, Israel's permanent representative to the United Nations, describing the expected focus of Netanyahu's speech to the General Assembly and planned meetings between Israeli diplomats and their counterparts.

"We know this [Iran] is a dangerous country," she said. "We stress and we emphasize that Iran is not only a threat to Israel, it's a global threat." Israeli diplomats plan to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the General Assembly with countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France and others, she said. "This is a good opportunity to have foreign ministers and prime ministers meet with our leaders and make them understand in a one-on-one meeting our goals, the challenges Israel is facing in a very crucial time," Shalev said. (Read more...)