Lieberman: Independent Palestinian State, Impossible before Two Years

Local Editor

After a meeting between Zionist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Al Quds (Jerusalem), Lieberman assured that an independent Palestinian State is not a possibility in the next two years, "Israeli" newspaper Haaretz revealed.

"There is absolutely no chance of reaching a Palestinian state until the year 2012," Lieberman said.

"One can dream and imagine, but we are far from reaching an agreement," he added.

During the meeting, an apparent disagreement broke out between Lieberman and Lavrov over Moscow's increased efforts to include Hamas in the Middle East peace talks.

In Tuesday's meeting, Lieberman told Lavrov that "Israel" opposed Russia's recent advances toward Hamas, with Lavrov assured that it was impossible to ignore the Islamic resistance's popularity amongst Palestinians, the paper reported.

Russian president met during his visit to Syria in May Hamas official Khaled Mashaal, where they discussed the current situation with "Israel".