JERUSALEM (AFP) - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called her Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman and the two agreed to meet "as soon as possible," Lieberman's office said on Thursday.

"The secretary of state and Mr. Lieberman agreed during the telephone conversation to meet as soon as possible," an official with his office told AFP, without saying when the conversation took place.

Since officially taking over the foreign ministry on Wednesday, Lieberman has received invitations for a visit from counterparts in Italy and Spain, he said.

Lieberman also spoke by phone with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

The firebrand Lieberman sparked controversy as soon as he took office, saying Israel was not obligated by the US-backed 2007 agreement to restart peace talks with the Palestinians.

On Thursday he continued to pour oil on the fire, refusing any withdrawal from the strategic Golan Heights plateau in exchange for peace with Syria.

AFP, April 2, 2009