Swedish foreign minister to travel to Middle East
(STOCKHOLM) - Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt will travel with his Czech and French counterparts to Cairo on January 4 to discuss efforts towards a Gaza ceasefire, the Swedish government said Friday.
"On Sunday, January 4, Carl Bildt will travel with Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner to Cairo for talks," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The next day, the trio will continue on to Jerusalem for discussions before meeting with Palestinian leaders in Ramallah in the West Bank.
"There are also plans to meet (Palestinian president Mahmud) Abbas in Amman, Jordan on Tuesday, January 6," the ministry said.
On Thursday, the Czech Republic took over the presidency of the European Union from France.
The death toll from Israel's aerial pounding of Gaza reached at least 420 on Friday as it entered its seventh day.
Text and Picture Copyright 2009 AFP. All other Copyright 2009 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.
