Biden, Netanyahu talks ‘candid’ and ‘productive’

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Talks between US Vice President Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu were “candid” and “productive” the White House said Tuesday, hours before the Israeli leader was to meet President Barack Obama.

The White House described the working dinner in Washington on Monday night which also included US national security adviser James Jones and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in a short statement.

“They had a productive, candid discussion on the full range of issues in the bilateral relationship, in preparation for the meeting later today between the president and the prime minister,” the statement said.

The spare nature of the language and the use of the word “candid” which often is used in diplomatic parlance to indicate that disagreements were aired, reflected the tense state of the US-Israeli relationship.AFP

After his talks with Biden, Netanyahu addressed the powerful US-Israel lobby and gave no sign he was prepared to bow to US pressure and halt Jewish settlement construction in annexed east Jerusalem.

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