BERLIN (AFP)---Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Saturday ruled out any "territorial concessions" to the Palestinians that do not contribute to a settlement of the Middle East conflict.   

The conflict is a "battle of cultures that cannot be resolved by territorial concessions", Lieberman said in an interview with the weekly Der Spiegel to be published on Monday.
   

While the United States is trying to relaunch the Israeli-Palestinian peace process through indirect talks under the aegis of US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, Lieberman said that "We now expect the Americans to put pressure on the Palestinians".
   

Mitchell was to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday and Palestinian authority chairman Mahmud Abbas the day after.   

Last week Mitchell postponed a visit to Jerusalem amid US criticism of Israeli plans to build 1,600 new homes in east Jerusalem, which had been announced during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden.   

"We did not provoke anybody," Lieberman said, adding that east Jerusalem is a constituent part of the Israeli capital.