Livni heading to New York to meet Annan, diplomats

The goal of the trip is to advance Israel's interests in talks on implementing the the cease-fire in Lebanon.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will fly on Tuesday night to New York for to meet United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, diplomatic officials and Jewish leaders. The goal of the trip is to advance Israel's interests in talks on implementing the the cease-fire in Lebanon. Annan is set to make key decisions in upcoming days about the role of the international force that will be stationed in Lebanon. Livni had planned to visit New York over the weekend but her trip was blocked by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Livni had expressed her disappointment with Olmert's decision to prevent her from going to the United Nations deliberations on the cease-fire resolution in New York. Olmert's move was seen as revenge against Livni for opposing military operations and voting against a decision to bomb Hizbullah's headquarters in Beirut at the start of the war. In an unflattering profile in Yediot Aharonot's weekend magazine, Foreign Ministry staffers criticized her for taking a backseat role during the war and refusing to give interviews to the foreign press. "My relationship with the prime minister is proper," Livni told Channel 1 on Saturday night. "I think I should have gone to New York but the prime minister thought differently so I did my work from here.