Netanyahu 'Values' Obama Call for Peace

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he shared U.S. President Barack Obama's vision for peace in remarks appeared aimed at defusing a deepening row with the U.S. leader.

"I am partner to the president's desire to foster peace and I value his efforts in the past and the present to achieve this goal," said Netanyahu, reacting to Obama's speech to the main pro-Israel lobby in Washington.

"I am determined to work together with President Obama to find ways to renew the peace negotiations. Peace is crucial for all of us."

Speaking to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Obama forcefully defended his call for an Israeli-Palestinian peace based on their pre-1967 frontiers, suggesting critics had misrepresented his policy.

In a dramatic Oval Office appearance on Friday, Netanyahu emphatically rejected the call, saying those borders would make Israel militarily indefensible and he then proceeded to lecture the American president.

This time, Netanyahu made no mention of the 1967 borders. Instead, his office said: "Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for the words of President Obama at AIPAC."