On Shalom's visit to Mauritania

The Israeli Foreign minister Silvan Shalom held talks with the President of Mauritania, Mu'aweya Seidi Ahmad al-Taye, and his foreign minister Muhammad Qal Weld Bilal.

Shalom considered that Mauritania is a bridge between Israel and the Arab states and expressed his regret that relations are not yet established between Israel and Gulf states and others in north Africa.

The spokesman for the ruling Republican party, Kaber Weld Hammoudi, defended Shalom's visit, saying in an interview with al-Jazeera TV that his country intends out of these visits to serve the Palestinian question and Arabs in general.

The Israeli official is due to visit a specialized hospital in cancer treatment under construction in Nouakchott, financed by the government of Tel Aviv, before he leaves the capital.

For its part, the Israeli embassy issued a statement in which it said it pays no interest to the current reactions in Nouakchott because these are the "behaviors of the minority which does not reflect the reality of the acceptance these relations have within the Mauritanian citizen." Shalom told the Israeli general radio about this visit that "it is very important for a country which refused to sever its relations with Israel at the beginning of the Intifada in September 2000 in contrary to Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar and Tunisia." He added that Mauritania challenged "the pressures that can not be borne" including the coupe attempt whose executors demanded severing diplomatic relations with Israel."