Israeli, RI FMs meet in secret: Report

Israeli, RI FMs meet in secret: Report

Agence France-Presse, Jerusalem

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom has secretly met his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirayuda in New York ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli army radio reported on Wednesday.

Shalom refused to confirm or deny the meeting, telling the radio station he was unable to discuss the matter.

Indonesia, with close to 90 percent of its 214 million people Muslims, has no diplomatic ties with Israel and regularly issues statements of support for the Palestinian cause.

Hassan stressed earlier this month that Jakarta would not establish diplomatic ties with Israel without a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

But the report is another sign of Israel hoping to reap diplomatic dividends within the Muslim world from its pullout from the Gaza Strip, following landmark talks between Shalom and his Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Kasuri.