Obama, Netanyahu urged to repair relationship

Former US secretary of defense Leon Panetta has called on President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to repair their frozen relationship.

"I would urge the president, I would urge the prime minister, to do everything possible to try to repair that relationship. It is too important to our security interests in that part of the world," Panetta told MSNBC on Thursday.

The former CIA director also criticized Netanyahu’s measures against foreign policy of the Obama administration.

"I know there have been personality differences. There's been a lot of concerns about the behavior of the prime minister. I understand all that," he said.

"But, frankly, the relationship with Israel is extremely important, both from an intelligence point of view, military point of view, a diplomatic point of view. It's very important to maintain that strong relationship, particularly when we're dealing with all of these threats in that region," Panetta added.

President Obama refused to meet with Netanyahu when he was in Washington earlier this month.

The Israeli leader was invited by House Speaker John Boehner to address Congress against a potential agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.

The invitation without consulting the White House angered the Obama administration.

Netanyahu has been persistent to undermine Iran's nuclear talks and prevent a nuclear deal between Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, Britain, Russia, China, France – plus Germany.

Netanyahu’s efforts to sabotage the nuclear negotiations have angered President Obama.

The US president earlier this week described the relationship with Netanyahu as "businesslike."

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