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Defense Min. Barak shaking hands with Iraqi President Talabani in Athens on Tuesday. (AP)
Last update - 18:47 01/07/2008
Historic handshake: Barak meets Iraq's president in Athens
By The Associated Press
Tags: Ehud Barak, Mahmoud Abbas 

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday had a brief meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at a conference in Greece.

The two shook hands when introduced by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the 23rd congress of the Socialist International at the Lagonissi Grand Resort, about 40 kilometers south of Athens.

Abbas and Barak met on the sidelines of the conference. The agenda of the talks has not been announced, and neither made any statement entering the meeting hall Tuesday.
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Abbas said his government would work to keep alive a June 19 truce between Israel and the militant Islamic group Hamas.

"Israel will live in an island and sea of peace if Israel withdraws from Arab and Palestinian territories," Abbas told the conference.

"We witness some steps in this direction which may stop this violence and bloodshed... Now there has been an agreement and we hope it will be kept. We want to keep this truce going."

"We hope that before the end of this year, and this is a hope, we can reach a true agreement for the end of the occupation and violence ... between Israel and Palestine," Abbas said before his closed-door meeting with Barak.

The Palestinian president met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert earlier this month, just prior to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the region.

While peace talks under U.S. guidance have been progressing, Israel's continued construction in areas of East Jerusalem and West Bank settlements has raised the ire of the Palestinians and put a damper on negotiations.

"The painful truth is that we still have a long way to go to achieve success," Abbas said.

Barak, who also met Talabani briefly on the sidelines of the 3-day conference, said that Israel wished to extend its indirect peace talks with Syria to cover Iraq as well.

He said Iran's nuclear program was the greatest threat to Middle Eastern security and urged the international community to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on Tehran.

"The Iranian nuclear program is a challenge to any possible world order," Barak said. He declined to comment on media reports that Israel conducted a military exercise in Greek airspace simulating a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

Greek Defence Ministry sources have said the maneuvers were "only an exercise for training purposes," but concerns over tensions between Israel and the world's fourth largest oil exporter have pushed oil prices to records above $140 a barrel.

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      1.   Boxes first, Talabani later 14:26  |  Nora 01/07/08
      2.   Best photo op of the year. 14:40  |  Stephen. 01/07/08
      3.   Loser Barak won`t wash his hands anymore to commemorate the honor 14:40  |  Absolute Sweden 01/07/08
      4.   Barak Meeting With Iraqi Prime Minister 14:44  |  Ronald 01/07/08
      5.   Socialist International conference? 15:34  |  Geoff 01/07/08
      6.   # 4, I hope so, but we must remember that Iraq is occuiped 16:01  |  Simon Mohammed 01/07/08
      7.   HOW MUCH PIECE IS THIS MEETING GOING TO COST ISRAEL;HOW MUCH 16:06  |  glenna 01/07/08
      8.   Let the arab world see this disgrace...this is the fall of Baghda 16:40  |  Soothsayer 01/07/08
      9.   It`s Not So Historic _ Everyone Relax 16:58  |  Eli 01/07/08
      10.   stooges on show 16:58  |  ravi 01/07/08
      11.   Socialist International 17:05  |  Boris 01/07/08
      12.   ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE TOP JOB 17:05  |  indrajaya 01/07/08
      13.   Traitor Abbas 17:16  |  Watchcraft 01/07/08
      14.   TWO OCCUPIED, ONE OCCUPER 17:16  |  indrajaya 01/07/08
      15.   Almadinejad would be shattered 17:16  |  Michael Durson 01/07/08
      16.   No 5 Is Correct 17:24  |  Simon 01/07/08
      17.   Security Council Type Setup - Jerusalem 17:33  |  Matthew Houston 01/07/08
      18.   meanwhile,the British govt. is paying millions of dollars to this 17:33  |  lakshmi 01/07/08
      19.   # 15, MICHAEL DURSON 17:40  |  indrajaya 01/07/08
      20.   Ronald: Iran has more sway in the region than Israel OR US 17:56  |  Moi 01/07/08
      21.   What is Barak doing in a socialist convention? 18:00  |  Israeli 01/07/08
      22.   Modest begginings 18:01  |  ScotGuy 01/07/08
      23.   #5 Geoff; If Mugabe is a marxists, swaering in 18:23  |  Haham Me Bat yam 01/07/08
      24.   Socialists of the world UNITE! 18:25  |  Socialist 01/07/08
      25.   Laksmi what is your problem you are not British 18:32  |  CM 01/07/08
      26.   There will be peace between the semites 19:00  |  Semite 01/07/08
      27.   If you want peace with Israel - you got it. 19:07  |  SLAPPY 01/07/08
      28.   20 CM,what is your problem? If you are British you should feel 19:14  |  lakshmi 01/07/08
      29.   Give peace a chance 19:43  |  cleva treva 01/07/08
      30.   to #21 Nice, and Peace must come between all there 19:48  |  Simon Mohammed 01/07/08
      31.   Nothing historic about it! 20:06  |  Antonio 01/07/08
      32.   SLAPPY - Peace on whose terms? 20:50  |  Sloppy 01/07/08
      33.   Sloppy: History Is Relevant 21:17  |  Tex 01/07/08
      34.   Talabani, unlike Saddam, was elected by the Iraqi people 21:55  |  Realist 01/07/08
      35.   www.socialistinternational.org Barak`s real platform 22:24  |  R. Yisrael 01/07/08
      36.   Hope for peace in the ME 23:24  |  Dik 01/07/08
      37.   #19 Indrajaya re Michael Durson 23:27  |  H 01/07/08
      38.   Mr. E. Barak meets Mr. Abbas & Mr. Iraq 23:31  |  Ricardo Kolbe 01/07/08
      39.   Realist: Election while under occupation? 23:37  |  Free Elections? 01/07/08
      40.   Tex - I am hardly a victim 23:41  |  Sloppy 01/07/08
      41.   Two Dogs, One Master 23:53  |  Hani 01/07/08
      42.   #18 Lakshmi 23:58  |  H 01/07/08
      43.   36 What about German elections? Occupied since 1945 00:17  |  Realist 02/07/08
      44.   Do the Arab "leaders" have any shame? 00:19  |  Haroon Abbasi 02/07/08
      45.   Israel haters take note of this symbolic handshake 00:39  |  Conroy 02/07/08
      46.   # 8 soothsayer...hurray for the US!!! 03:43  |  Lynn 02/07/08
      47.   #18 lakshmi....and will keep paying as long 03:46  |  Lynn 02/07/08
      48.   # 44 Haroon Abassi....because they are not 03:50  |  Lynn 02/07/08
      49.   # 30 Simon Mohammed .....me too! 03:54  |  Lynn 02/07/08
      50.   - 12:03  |  Some Iraqi 02/07/08
      51.   Brave Kurdish president 18:28  |  Kurdistan 02/07/08
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