Turkey Mediates Between Israel, Syria

Following the weekend visit in Syria by Turkish PM Erdogan, when both he and the Syrian President Assad confirmed that Turkey would mediate for peace between Syria and Israel, it is being speculated in the media that a Turkish envoy will soon be sent to Israel. It is not clear whether this envoy would be Erdogan’s senior foreign policy advisor Ahmet Davutoglu, who is the architect of Turkey’s closer than ever relations with the Islamic world.

In Ankara, Turkish FM Ali Babacan told reporters that there's still a lot to achieve before any peace agreement between Israel and Syria. An agreement between the longtime enemies requires "strong political determination" from both sides, he added. Babacan said that Turkey would pass messages between the sides until they are ready to meet, and added, "Talks will continue to take place through Turkey for a while. When the issue is a little more mature, then I hope that the sides will meet each other".

Turkey is trying to restart low-level talks between the two countries as a prelude to bringing the leaders of Syria and Israel together.

Source: Hurriyet, Milliyet, Vatan, April 27, 2008

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