German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak Tuesday that his country will do whatever it can to help release three Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Lebanese guerrillas this month.
"Please say to the parents of the imprisoned soldiers that Germany wants to help them. We will do anything we can, but it shouldn't be overestimated," he told reporters after an hour-long meeting with the Israeli leader.
Schroeder arrived in Israel on Tuesday as part of a Middle East tour aimed at quelling the wave of unrest that has rocked the Palestinian territories over the past month, claiming the lives of more than 150 people.
"The violence must stop. I say that to anybody, who is concerned," he said, urging Israel and the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table.
"We must go back to the negotiation table," he said.
"I have always said that Ehud Barak is somebody who really wants peace for his country," he added.
Schroeder is also due to meet Israeli President Moshe Katsav and parliamentary speaker Avraham Burg, according to the Israeli government.
He is scheduled to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Gaza City on Wednesday.
Schroeder arrived here from Syria, where he called for the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, an informal ceasefire pact reached in Egypt earlier this month between Israel and the Palestinians after mediation by US President Bill Clinton – JERUSALEM (AFP)
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