NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance could send peacekeeping forces to Israelis and Palestinians if both parties agree on a peace deal.
During his visit to Israel, Rasmussen said NATO involvement in the Middle East peace process could be possible if three conditions were met: a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, a request for NATO help by both parties and the UN endorsing NATO involvement.
"Of course, at the moment, those three 'Ifs' are far from being met," he said in a statement. "NATO is not involved in the Middle East peace process and is not seeking a role in it," he said.
The NATO chief said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is "a major impediment in addressing other issues that threaten regional stability," although it can no longer be perceived as the only problem in the region.
Direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, which resumed last September after a 20-month standoff, collapsed in December after Israel refused to stop construction in the occupied West Bank.
Last Sunday, Palestinians voiced their disappointment that the Middle East Quartet of negotiators, which met on February 5 in Germany, refused to heed their call for unilateral statehood and failed to take a strong stance on Israel's settlement construction.
TEL AVIV, February 10 (RIA Novosti)
