News / Foreign Policy

Netanyahu rejects meeting with US Democrats

Wednesday, 25 February 2015 9:58 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 25 February 2015 10:01 PM ]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will not meet with US Senate Democrats during his next month visit to Washington, DC.

Netanyahu rejected the proposed closed-door meeting with the Democratic caucus saying it would “compound the misperception of partisanship” over his address to Congress on March 3, CNN reported on Wednesday.

US House Speaker John Boehner last month invited Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress about the alleged threat of Iran’s nuclear program without consulting the White House.

Netanyahu’s rejection appears to be a response to remarks by US National Security Advisor Susan Rice who said on Tuesday that Netanyahu’s visit ahead of the upcoming Israeli elections is a partisan move.

Rice also said that Netanyahu's acceptance of the invitation, without the blessing of the White House, is “destructive” to the Israeli-American ties.

“I think it's destructive of the fabric of the relationship," she said in an interview with journalist Charlie Rose on American broadcaster PBS.

Also on Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry strongly criticized officials who are speaking against a potential nuclear agreement with Iran.

In an apparent reference to Netanyahu, Kerry said, “Anybody running around right now, jumping in to say well we don’t like the deal, or this or that, doesn’t know what the deal is.”

Netanyahu has accused the Obama administration of trying to strike a “bad deal” with Iran.

Iran and the P5+1 group of states – Britain, France, China, Russia, the United States, Germany – are holding negotiations to narrow remaining differences ahead of a deadline in late March for a framework agreement between the two sides. The deadline for the final agreement is July 1.

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