When Omar Suleiman Met Avigdor Lieberman

Egypt's Director of Intelligence General Omar Suleiman was in Israel yesterday for meetings with Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, and Avigdor Lieberman.  

Suleiman's meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman is receiving a lot of media attention today. Israel Radio reports that "Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in an interview to Israel Radio earlier this morning that Israel had an interest in initiating processes and in advancing in those processes, rather than in dragging its feet."

Yediot Acharonoth reported on that meeting:

Just one week after Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit conveyed a stern message to Jerusalem that "Avigdor Lieberman won't enter Egypt until he changes his positions"-last night the Israeli foreign minister met with Director of Egyptian Intelligence General Omar Suleiman. Suleiman even went so far as to invite Lieberman to visit Cairo.

In the course of the talks that were held to prepare for a meeting between the two men, the Egyptians posed five strict conditions that they demanded be met before Suleiman would meet Lieberman: an apology from Lieberman about his verbal attacks on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; a statement from Lieberman about the importance of Egypt and the strategic ties between the two countries; the meeting must be held in the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem and not in the Foreign Ministry building; the fact of the meeting must be kept secret until the last minute; the media must be kept away from the meeting.

A high-ranking Egyptian source told Yedioth Ahronoth last night that only after Lieberman had agreed to meet all five Egyptian demands was an affirmative answer given by the Egyptians regarding a meeting with Suleiman.