Sharon Says Ready for Concessions, Insists on Cease-fire

German Chancellor Schroeder Meets with Israel PM Sharon

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Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Thursday that Israel is ready for "big and painful" concessions in seeking a solution to the Middle East conflicts.

But the prerequisite for the restarting of the peace process is an "absolute cease-fire," Sharon said after talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Israel is ready to realize the Mitchell Plan, but there would be no compromise with the terror, the 73-year-old Israeli leader said.

He and Schroeder admitted that the Mitchell Plan is a good instrument in solving conflicts. The plan drafted by an international commission led by former U.S. senator George Mitchell called for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire in the Middle East and recommended Israel to halt settlement building and modify its harsh attitude in dealing with unarmed Palestinian demonstrators.

Saying that Germany has a "balanced attitude" toward the nations in the region, Sharon expressed his hope that Germany could continue to mediate in the Middle East conflicts so that the peace process could restart.

Schroeder said the security demands of Israel could only be guaranteed when all peoples in the region got a peace and prosperity perspective. He called on Israel to be flexible on the issue of Jewish settlements.

The chancellor said Germany could only play a mediating role in the frame of the European Union, which should also have a " seamless consensus" with the United States on the Middle East situation.

Accompanied by Schroeder, Sharon earlier Thursday laid down wreaths at the memorial place for Jewish victims during World War II at the Grunewald Railway Station in Berlin.

Sharon, who is in Germany for a one-day visit, is scheduled to meet German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer later Thursday.