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Israeli FM and Vice PM Tzipi Livni, left, and her Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomiojam, right, during a press conference in Finland. (AP)
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| By Associated Press July 5, 2006 |
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An Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants is probably still alive, Israel's foreign minister said Tuesday, as a deadline passed for the country to meet the captors' demands.
"This is our assumption," Tzipi Livni said at a news conference in Helsinki.
When asked what indications Israel had that Cpl. Gilad Shalit was alive, she said: "We have reasons to believe that he's alive."
Livni was in Helsinki to discuss EU-Israel relations with Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. Finland took over the EU's rotating presidency on July 1.
Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said the EU is "very concerned about the deterioration of the security situation in the Middle East," and reiterated the bloc's calls for Shalit, 19, to be released.
"We all demand the unconditional release of the Israeli soldier," Tuomioja said, at a news conference with Livni, adding that the EU demanded "an end to all rocket attacks and other terrorist activities."
"We also expressed our (EU) concerns about some of the Israeli responses which could have serious long-term consequences. Civilian lives must be protected," Tuomioja said after a brief meeting with Livni at Helsinki Vantaa Airport. "The present crisis -- and the whole question of the Middle East conflict -- will be solved only through negotiations."
"The EU is assisting in finding a solution to the crisis," he added, but gave no details.
Before meeting Livni, Tuomioja talked with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit by telephone, Finnish officials said.
Livni said Israel has information she hopes Shalit's parents would soon see their son.
"We hope that the parents of Gilad Shalit ... will see their son, in the next few days," Livni said. "This is our main goal. This is the real reason for the operations we are taking ."
Shalit was captured in a cross-border raid on June 25. Hamas' military wing and two allied groups -- the Popular Resistance Committees and the Army of Islam -- have claimed responsibility for the abduction.
The militants holding Shalit had set an early Tuesday deadline for Israel to begin releasing some 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in return for information about the soldier. The militants have given no details on Shalit's condition though Israeli officials believe he suffered light wounds.
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