Shimon Peres (right) talking to Nicolas Lombard, director of Swiss Radio International – swissinfo.ch’s predecessor – at a panel discussion in Bern in 1982
swissinfo archive/H. Schlegel
Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter has paid a personal tribute to Shimon Peres, former Israeli president and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, who died on Wednesday at the age of 93.
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Shimon Peres, “ein einfacher und eindrücklicher Mann”
“He was a personality both modest and impressive,” said Burkhalter in an interview with the Swiss News Agency. “He had a long-term vision and was an important political actor.”
Burkhalter said he met Peres during a visit to the Middle East in 2013. “It was a moment that has remained imprinted on my memory,” he said.
Instead of following the diplomatic protocol, the two politicians had a long and “deeply human discussion enriched with personal anecdotes”.
Burkhalter said Peres was very much aware of the concerns of the Israeli citizens and able to take a long-term political perspective.
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