(Ynet).US President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday evening – 2 am (GMT) and Netanyahu's media advisor, Nir Hefetz, tells Ynet that "saying that there was a near-crisis brewing simply isn’t true."
The atmosphere ahead of the meeting, he stressed, "Is relaxed. We're gearing for a long political day, which will culminate with a meeting in the oval office."
The White House was reportedly enraged with the Prime Minister's Office for announcing that Netanyahu will be arriving in Washington, but delayed information about the meeting, which will not be open to the press. Nevertheless, Hefetz said that Jerusalem and Washington were in constant contact over the past few weeks, in preparation for the trip and the meeting.
Hefetz agreed that announcing the two heads of state will meet was delayed, but dismissed it as simple scheduling matters: "The prime minister announced he was going to speak at the GA conference in the US weeks ago.
"Since this year the conference happens to be taking place in Washington, he expressed his wish to use this opportunity to meet Obama and discuss ways to advance the peace process. Yes, the White House answered us a little late, but describing the situation as if a crisis was brewing simply isn’t true."
The Prime Minister's Office said that during the Washington visit, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet 25 senators, both democrats and republican, as well as the head of the House Subcommittee on Iran. "It's business as usual," said a source in the Prime Minister's Office.
The atmosphere ahead of the meeting, he stressed, "Is relaxed. We're gearing for a long political day, which will culminate with a meeting in the oval office."
The White House was reportedly enraged with the Prime Minister's Office for announcing that Netanyahu will be arriving in Washington, but delayed information about the meeting, which will not be open to the press. Nevertheless, Hefetz said that Jerusalem and Washington were in constant contact over the past few weeks, in preparation for the trip and the meeting.
Hefetz agreed that announcing the two heads of state will meet was delayed, but dismissed it as simple scheduling matters: "The prime minister announced he was going to speak at the GA conference in the US weeks ago.
"Since this year the conference happens to be taking place in Washington, he expressed his wish to use this opportunity to meet Obama and discuss ways to advance the peace process. Yes, the White House answered us a little late, but describing the situation as if a crisis was brewing simply isn’t true."
The Prime Minister's Office said that during the Washington visit, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet 25 senators, both democrats and republican, as well as the head of the House Subcommittee on Iran. "It's business as usual," said a source in the Prime Minister's Office.
