NATO's secretary general said on Wednesday that he had urged "all parties" in Egypt and Tunisia to work for speedy reform and it was vital that Egypt remain a force for Middle East stability.
Speaking during a one-day visit to Israel, Anders Fogh Rasmussen also said that the deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts was detrimental to such stability and must be resolved without delay.
Rasmussen met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Jerusalem, then addressed a security conference in the seaside town of Herzilya, near Tel Aviv, where he spoke of the challenge presented by demands for democratic reform in Egypt and Tunisia.
"I have urged all parties to engage without delay in an open dialogue to ensure a peaceful, democratic and speedy transition with full respect of human rights," he told the conference.
"For over 30 years Egypt has played a key moderating role in the region and it is imperative for all of us that it should remain a force for peace and stability."
Rasmussen said that the freeze in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is an obstacle to solving other problems in the Middle East.
"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be no longer be perceived as the only problem in the region but it still constitutes a major impediment in addressing other issues that threaten regional stability," he said.
"Further delay in the resumption of the negociations is detrimental to prospect of regional peace and security," he added. "We do not have all the time in the world."
Talks between Israel and the Palestinians, relaunched on September 2 after a long hiatus, fell apart weeks later, after Israel refused to renew a temporary ban on building settlements in the West Bank.
The Palestinian leadership refuses to resume negotiations as long as Israel builds on land wanted for a Palestinian state.
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