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Israeli leader Shimon Peres arrives in Delhi

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

Close on the heels of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's unscheduled stop in New Delhi after his tour of East Asia, Israeli Minister for Regional Development Shimon Peres arrived in India on Thursday morning on a three-day visit.

His purpose is to brief the Indian leadership about the developments in the Middle East peace process, which has been stalled over the question of control of Jerusalem.

Peres called on President K R Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He will also meet External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, and Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi.

A major concern of Israel has been Arafat's threat that he will declare an independent state of Palestine on September 13, a move the government in Tel Aviv has warned against. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has said that any such unilateral move will jeopardise the peace process.

Arafat, on his two-day stopover in New Delhi, had sought to drum up support for his proposed unilateral declaration of a Palestinian homeland on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Now, Peres is seeking to explain Israel's position on the issue.

So far, the external affairs ministry has maintained a stoic silence on the issues discussed and on India's likely stand on a Palestinian state.

"We have always supported a Palestinian homeland," the ministry's spokesman said. But he refused to be drawn into whether India would support it at this juncture. He merely said, "We support the ongoing peace process and would like to see this process reach its logical conclusion."

It is believed that India cautioned Arafat against a unilateral declaration of statehood at this critical juncture when the talks remain deadlocked. The talks, which were held at Camp David in the United States, broke down over the key issue of control of Jerusalem. Arafat was adamant that Jerusalem would be the capital of Palestine, a move opposed by Tel Aviv, which is keen to retain some control over this ancient city.

Jerusalem is the holiest city of the Jews and the third holiest (after Mecca and Medina) for Muslims. It is also an important holy city for Christians and sentiments about the control of the city's key spiritual institutions remain a delicate matter.

The spokesman pointed out that India had excellent relations with all parties concerned in the West Asian peace process -- Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Syria. He said India had always been an ardent supporter of the Palestinian cause, so much so that Palestine even opened an embassy in New Delhi in the mid-1980s. India then had no diplomatic relations with Israel.

But the end of the Cold War changed the scenario. India established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992, which ties have blossomed in recent years. "We'd like to point out that only a few weeks ago, the Indian home minister and external affairs minister both paid visits to Israel, thus showing the increasing importance of our ties. Moreover, the external affairs minister met Yasser Arafat during his Israel tour," the spokesman said.

India thus has carried out a fine balancing act so far between the two sides: one a long-time, traditional friend with an important voice in the Arab world, the other a new friend with whom ties are getting stronger and deeper.

Peres leaves India on August 27.

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