At the invitation of the Club of Former Slovenian Ambassadors chaired by Ambassador Peter Toš, the directors of the International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) Bakhatyar Aljaf and Zijad Bećirović participated at the round table on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which was organised today, 19 February 2009 in Ljubljana. The IFIMES directors delivered introductory speeches on the dimensions of the armed conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinian inhabitants in the closed territory of the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip. They also presented the reconciliation initiatives, EU reactions as well as the position of the Republic of Slovenia and its assessment of the reasons for and consequences of the Middle East conflict.
Another introductory speech was delivered by Matej Marn, Head of the Division for EU Affairs and political director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia.
Introductory presentations were followed by a lively discussion which was joined by the attending ambassadors.
Ljubljana, 19 February 2009
