MOLDE - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Wednesday
he was building a "new relationship" with Europe
as he turned the page on the failed 1993 Oslo
peace accords by visiting Norway.
Hundreds of Norwegian protesters
jeered Sharon, on his first
trip to western Europe in 13
months, with slogans such as
"Ariel - go to Hell" after he
met Norwegian Prime Minister
Kjell Magne Bondevik on the
banks of a fjord in the western
port of Molde.
"The foundation is being laid for a new
relationship with them [Europeans]," Sharon
said on the plane from Britain to Norway, the
two stops on a heavily-guarded visit to Europe.
In London, he accused the European Union of
having an "unbalanced" pro-Palestinian view of
the 33-month intifada.
Israeli officials said the visit to Norway, to
Bondevik's home town of Molde ringed by
snow-capped mountains, was meant to symbolize
that Israel was turning the page on the Oslo
accords that Sharon opposed from the start.
Asked if he was deliberately avoiding the
Norwegian capital because of its associations
with the peace process, Sharon said: "You don't
need a venue to underscore the status of the
accords or where they led us."
A former Norwegian Labour government hosted
secret meetings between Israelis and
Palestinians in 1993 that led to the once
historic Oslo accords. Bondevik, a Lutheran
priest, is a member of the centrist Christian
People's Party.
"I believe we can do much more together," Sharon
said of ties with Norway. "Norway is a friendly
country. The prime minister is friendly to
Israel and I believe these two countries can
contribute to do together many things."
"I believe in peace. I am committed to peace,"
Sharon told reporters after his meeting with
Bondevik, adding that Norway would be involved
in future peace talks.
Bondevik had previously expressed concern about
Israel's construction of the West Bank security
fence, which is designed to deter Palestinian
terrorists from entering Israel.
"I will express concern for the wall, or fence,
that is being built," Bondevik told NRK public
radio.
Bondevik also said Norway, which chairs a group
of donors for Palestinian areas, would maintain
contacts with Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat, despite efforts by Israel and
the United States to sideline him. Sharon has
denounced Arafat as the main obstacle to
peace.
The Norwegian premier also said that Palestinian
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas had agreed to
visit Norway in late August.
Sharon's visit provoked widespread protests in
Norway when it was announced. The Norwegian
government struck back by saying Sharon's
critics risked hindering efforts to bring peace
to the region.
"I think they [Sharon's Norwegian critics]
should face up to the fact that if there is any
hope of building upon the tenuous progress we
are seeing in the Middle East, Sharon is
certainly one of the key figures," said Vidar
Helgesen, state secretary with the foreign
ministry.
"He, more than anyone else, will contribute to
this process - if indeed it does continue -
and, for that reason, it is entirely natural
and important for a country like Norway to talk
with Sharon," he added.
Molde locals were upset because the visit
coincided with the town's international jazz
festival which draws thousands of fans from all
over Europe.
The town's airport was closed for 18 hours in
connection with the visit, making it necessary
for festival-goers and musicians to arrive at
other local airports.
Ariel Sharon shaking hands with Norwegian Premier Kjell Magne Bondevik in Molde on Wednesday. (AP)
Sharon visits Norway, seeks 'new relationship' with Europe 
