PM heads for Europe to discuss parley

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert departs Sunday night for talks with the new leaders of France and Britain to press for intensified sanctions against Iran. He will also seek support for Israel's position on the peace process ahead of the Annapolis conference.

On Monday Olmert will meet in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Talks are also scheduled with Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and representatives of the French Jewish community, the largest in Europe. On Tuesday the prime minister will meet in London with his British counterpart Gordon Brown, who took office in June. He will also meet with British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs David Miliband and with the head of the opposition, Conservative Party leader David Cameron. Talks are also scheduled with leaders of the British Jewish community. France and Britain are the European Union's two permanent representatives on the United Nations Security Council. The body is set to meet before the end of the year to discuss a new package of sanctions against Iran as part of efforts to thwart Teheran's nuclear program. Paris has significantly toughened its position on the Iranian nuclear threat since Sarkozy was elected president five months ago. Britain also supports considering new sanctions against Iran. But efforts to achieve an international consensus on stepping up sanctions are opposed by Russia and China, who make up the other permanent members of the Security Council, along with the US, which backs tougher sanctions.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Photo: AP French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomes British Prime Minister Gordon Brown prior to a meeting in Paris. [file]

Which will bevetoed by Russia and China