Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday he saw an axis for peace with Israel developing among what he termed moderate Arab countries to counter the threats of a nuclear Iran and militants.
In a speech to parliament, Olmert called on Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to meet him face-to-face - an appeal that Siniora swiftly turned down - and again voiced a readiness for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "There are numerous voices in the Arab world speaking in favour of a peace agreement (with Israel)," Olmert said.
"I am pleased a moderate axis of countries in the Arab world has been created that wants to take part in blocking Iran's influence on the region. The Iranian threat is aimed not only against Israel and the free world, but also against Arab countries around us," he said in the policy speech.
Olmert reiterated that a nuclear Iran, whose president has called for Israel's destruction, would pose "an existential threat" to the Jewish state. "Israel is co-operating with the international community to head it off. This is a historic crossroads for the entire international community and it has a duty to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear capability," he said. "There's no room for questions or wavering. The world must act with determination ... and ensure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons. The latest events in North Korea demonstrate the danger," he said, referring to Pyongyang's recent announcement it had carried out a nuclear test.
On Tuesday, Olmert heads to Russia, which has been reluctant to back possible UN Security Council sanctions against Iran. The Israeli leader said Iran would be at the centre of his talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In his speech to the opening of the Knesset's winter session, Olmert said he hoped his call to Lebanon's Siniora to meet him would lead to "direct talks to bring peace to our peoples".
In September, after the end of a 34-day war between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, Olmert said he had made numerous unsuccessful offers to Siniora to talk peace.
Siniora dismissed the new appeal too, calling on Israel to accept an Arab peace initiative floated by Saudi Arabia in 2002 that would offer peace in return for Israel's withdrawal from land occupied since the 1967 Middle East war.
"The prime minister has announced more than once that Lebanon will be the last Arab country to sign peace with Israel," Siniora's office said in a statement.
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