President Shimon Peres on Wednesday urged Ukraine to play a role in mediating between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
"I know that Ukraine is maintaining very good relations with many Arab countries, and, in our opinion, this is a very smart policy, because we also would like to be friends and maintain friendly and good neighborly relations with many of them," said Peres at a joint press conference in Kievv, with his counterpart, Viktor Yanukovych.
"Since we have very bad relations [with the Arab countries], Ukraine could talk with both sides, and, perhaps, this could have been a big plus," Peres added.
In response to a question regarding a possible future conflict between Israel and Lebanon, Peres said that he regretted the domestic turmoil racking Lebanon, but that Israel "has no conflict" or "claims" with its northern neighbor.
The president was accompanied on his visit by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
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