Swiss Prez meets Ahmedinejad; Israel irked

Amid a raging racism row, Israel has recalled its Ambassador to Switzerland after its President met Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is a "racist Holocaust denier" and "does not hide his intentions to wipe Israel off the face of the earth."

Resenting Swiss President Hans-Rudolph Metz meeting his Iranian counterpart Ahmadinejad, Israel recalled its Ambassador to Switzerland, Ilan Elgar for "consultations" and summoned Bern's head of diplomatic mission at Tel Aviv for "urgent discussions".

"The meeting of a President of a democratic country with a notorious Holocaust denier such as the Iranian president, who has openly declared his intention of wiping Israel off the map is not in keeping with the values represented by Switzerland," a statement from the Israeli foreign ministry said.

"While we gather to honour their memory, in Switzerland there will assemble a conference allegedly aimed against racism. Its guest-of-honour is a racist Holocaust denier who does not hide his intentions to wipe Israel off the face of the earth," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said referring to Ahmedinejad in a Cabinet meeting on Monday.

Values that are supposed to be displayed at the UN Conference Against Racism (Durban 2), which opened in Geneva on Monday, the statement added.

The incident is further aggravated by the fact that the meeting took place on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day when we commemorate the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, it said.

Israel alsosummoned the Charg dAffaires of the Swiss Embassy in Israel, Monika Schmutz-Kirgoz, for an "urgent meeting" to express Israel's vigorous protest against the meeting with Ahmadinejad.

"This evening, the State of Israel marks the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day.Six million of our brethren were massacred during the Holocaust.Sadly, not everyone learned the lesson", Netanyahu stressed.

The Israeli premier commended thosecountries that are boycotting the Durban conference.

"As opposed to those dark days, today a strong Jewish state stands to ensure the continued existence of the Jewish people in the face of this new anti-Semitism", Netanyahu added.