Washington, March 17: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will talk soon with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to ease a bitter diplomatic feud with the staunch US ally, officials said.
Officials said the call could come as early as today, as the Obama administration awaits Netanyahu’s response to its complaints over Israeli settlement policy, which has provoked the sharpest US-Israel row in years.
But in a possible sign it wants to stop the row widening, the administration also termed the dispute a disagreement between friends that would not shatter their “unbreakable bond”.
The spat comes ahead of the meeting Friday in Moscow of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet — involving the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations — where participants will discuss Israel’s controversial settler plans.
–Agencies