RAMALLAH, September 12, 2011 (WAFA) – The German position has been against Palestinian plans to ask for United Nations membership, Monday said Foreign Minister Riyad Malki.

He told Voice of Palestine radio that German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told President Mahmoud Abbas when he met him in Jordan Sunday that Germany does not approve of the Palestinian move.

“The German position is not positive,” he said.

Westerwelle started his Mideast trip by meeting Abbas in Amman Sunday evening. He then held talks on Monday with Jordan’s King Abdullah and other officials before travelling to Israel in the afternoon for talks with Israeli officials.

A statement by the German foreign ministry prior to his trip said that Westerwelle’s talks will focus on the Palestinians’ UN bid.

It said Westerwelle talked to European Union foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, before his trip and before Ashton’s scheduled meeting with Abbas in Cairo on Monday, where the two agreed that escalation that could be caused by going to the UN should be avoided.

They also agreed that the EU should have one stand from the UN bid and that chances of holding direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians should remain open.

Westerwelle stressed that the UN bid should not prejudice efforts to resume direct Palestinian-Israelis negotiations and should not be allowed to increase tension in the region.

He said that Germany wants Israel to live inside secure borders, but also wants the Palestinians to have their own viable and independent state. He said this goal could be reached only through negotiations, not confrontation.

M.S.