Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined an invitation to meet with Democratic Senators behind closed doors when he will be in Washington to address a joint session of Congress on March 3.
"Though I appreciate your kind invitation to meet with Democratic Senators, I believe that doing so at this time could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit," Netanyahu said in a letter to Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Dianne Feinstein.
He added: "I regret that the invitation to address the special joint session of Congress has been perceived by some to be political or partisan. I can assure you that my sole intention in accepting it was to voice Israel's grave concern about a potential nuclear agreement with Iran that could threaten the survival of my country."
The invitation was extended by House Speaker John Boehner without consulting the White House. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have announced they will not meet with Netanhayu during his visit.
The White House cited a "long-standing practice" of avoiding appearances with heads of state in close proximity to their elections.
In a statement, Durbin described Netanyahu's decision as "disappointing."
He added: "We offered the Prime Minister an opportunity to balance the politically divisive invitation from Speaker Boehner with a private meeting with Democrats who are committed to keeping the bipartisan support of Israel strong. His refusal to meet is disappointing to those of us who have stood by Israel for decades."
More than a half dozen House and Senate Democrats have said they will not attend Netanyahu’s address, calling it an ‘’affront’’ to President Barack Obama and the administration as they engage in high-level negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. Vice President Joe Biden will be traveling and has no plans to attend the speech.
Lusan E. Rice, Obama’s national security adviser, sharply criticized the Israeli Prime Minister over his plans to address a joint meeting of Congress, saying his actions had hurt Israel's relationship with the United States.
Mr. Netanyahu’s decision to travel to Washington to deliver the speech two weeks before the Israeli elections has “injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it’s destructive of the fabric of the relationship,” Rice said in an interview on the PBS television program “Charlie Rose.”