Avigdor Liberman speaking at a news conference at the Knesset, May 18, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

(JTA) — Avigdor Liberman, Israel’s defense minister, will visit the United States to meet with his U.S. counterpart, Ashton Carter, in his first trip abroad since taking the post.

Carter and Liberman are scheduled to meet Monday. The meeting comes following concerns raised by the Obama administration over Liberman’s appointment last month, when his Yisrael Beiteinu party joined the government coalition.

Liberman, who will leave for the U.S. on Saturday, also reportedly will meet with the U.S. Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

On Wednesday, he will attend a ceremony in Dallas honoring the development of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet, which Israel has agreed to purchase, and visit a local factory of the Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.

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