Olmert-Gates

     American Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday tried to ease Israeli concerns about a planned American weapons sale to Arab allies in the Gulf, saying the US remained committed to preserving Israel's military edge over its neighbors,media reported. Gates said that since taking up office visiting Israel has been high on list of priorities in order to further advance the two nations' close military and security relations. Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv before his departure, Gates said he had urged Israeli leaders to look at the deal in terms of the "overall strategic environment" and stressed that Israel's neighbors had other alternatives for purchasing arms. "I'm confident that the Russians would be very happy to sell weapons to countries in the region," he said. Gates affirmed that the US would continue to help Israel maintain its qualitative military edge, but did not say whether the Saudi deal would go through. The two men said that strategic changes underway in the Middle East indicate that moderate Arab countries are preparing to deal with the phenomenon of extremist Islam, the main danger to regional stability. Prime Minister Olmert said that these changes have considerable influence on the desire to reach peace with Israel and on progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process."We must be wary of miscalculations that might lead Syria and Israel to a conflict they are not interested in," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Thursday in a meeting with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Olmert stressed that Israel does not plan to attack Syria.In their meeting, the prime minister voiced concern regarding the increasing flow of arms from Syria to Hizbullah in Lebanon, and noted that the international community must ensure that UN Resolution 1701 is implemented in full and that the smuggling stops, also media reported. (20,08)