Israeli center-right Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday evening met with Foreign Minister and centrist Kadima party chairwoman Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem for talks on forming the coalition government, local daily Ha'aretz reported.
This was the first time the two have met since the Feb. 10 parliamentary elections, in which both Livni and Netanyahu claimed victory.
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Israeli center-right Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with Israeli Foreign Minister and centrist Kadima party chairwoman Tzipi Livni for talks on forming the coalition government in Jerusalem, Feb. 22, 2009.[Yin Bogu/Xinhua]
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During the meeting, Netanyahu, who has been assigned the task of forming Israel's next coalition government, was expected to try to convince Livni to join a coalition under his leadership, said Ha'aretz.
Israeli political establishment assessed that Netanyahu would offer Livni "full partnership" in such a coalition, including cooperative wording of the Basic Law, as well as three top ministerial portfolios -- defense, foreign affairs and finance.
Livni said Sunday before the talks that her Kadima party was unwilling to compromise on its path for peace just to join the coalition.