Middle East Must Respect Avigdor Lieberman's Strong Tone; the Man is No Push-Over; Definitely a Rising Star on the World Political Stage...

JERUSALEM (AFP)--Israel's hawkish new Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told foreign powers on Tuesday to stay out of Israeli politics, in an apparent reference to the flagging Middle East peace process. "We have never interfered in the affairs of others, and we expect from others that they not interfere in ours," Lieberman told a meeting of his ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party. "I do not expect from others that they have a stopwatch in hand and tell Israel when it must produce a responsible political program," he added. During a visit to Turkey on Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama voiced renewed hope that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be resolved on the basis of a two-state solution, and urged leaders on both sides for "courage" to make peace. "I believe that peace in the Middle East is possible. I think it will be based on two states side by side," he said. "In order to achieve that, both sides are going to have to make compromises. Now what we need is the political will and courage on the part of leadership," he added. Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=mck7Ksb26V7G19NeQW%2F7rA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day. (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 07, 2009 13:28 ET (17:28 GMT) Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 01 28 PM EDT 04-07-09