http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkey-ready-to-resume-israel-syria-talks-says-pm-2009-07-22
Turkey ready to resume Israel-Syria talks, says PM Wednesday, July 22, 2009 ALLEPPO - Daily News with wires Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pays a one-day visit to Syria and holds talks that focus on the stalled Turkish-mediated peace negotiations between Israel and Syria. Turkey is ready to resume its role as mediator in the suspended indirect talks, Erdogan says Turkey is ready to resume its role as mediator in indirect talks between Israel and Syria, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday before leaving for a one-day visit to Syria. "Requests to resume the process have started to come in; we should get to work on this issue," he said at Ankara's airport, without indicating which country had contacted Turkey. Ankara last year brokered four rounds of indirect talks between longtime foes Israel and Syria, focusing on the contentious issue of the return of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau seized by Israeli forces during the 1967 war. But talks were suspended when Israel launched an offensive against the Palestinian Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip in late December. Since then, rightist Benjamin Netanyahu has been elected as the Israeli prime minister. Damascus has said it is willing to resume the Turkish-mediated talks if they focus on a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, but Netanyahu has said he is not willing to cede the territory. Meeting in Aleppo "We feel a responsibility ... and we should be ready to re-launch the talks," the Turkish prime minister said, according to Agence France-Presse. "We are determined to do all we can for peace in the Middle East," he added. In the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, the Turkish prime minister met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his presidential palace. No statement was made following the hour-long meeting, which was also attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Moallem. Turkey is Israel's main regional ally and the two countries have enjoyed strong economic ties since signing a military-cooperation accord in 1996. However, the Gaza offensive that killed more than 1,000 Palestinians has strained relations between the two nations. In January, an angry Erdogan stormed out of a debate on the Gaza conflict at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that included Israeli President Shimon Peres. On the eve of Erdogan's visit to Syria, some reports in the Turkish media linked the prime minister's trip to the recent visit to Damascus by Fred Hof, an adviser to U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell. In a meeting with Hof on July 15, Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon emphasized that Tel Aviv is prepared to enter direct negotiations with Syria without preconditions, reported Iran's English-language television channel Press TV. He also argued, though, that it was impossible for Syria to enter peace talks as long as it allies itself closely with Iran and supports the Islamist rulers of Gaza, Hamas, and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Hof presented Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak with a document titled "Marking the Border Between Syria and Israel," according to the Israeli media. But Ayalon has said that Hof would not be presenting any maps or border routes. Yedioth Ahronoth had earlier reported that the document includes a future border route, based on an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Israel annexed in 1981 with no recognition from the international community. Mitchell returning to region Erdogan's visit comes as U.S. special envoy Mitchell is set to return to the region at the end of this week, according to a statement by the State Department. "George Mitchell will be traveling to the region later this week," spokesman Philip Crowley said during a press briefing. "His itinerary is still not completely set, but he will be traveling to ... talk to Israeli officials, Palestinian officials, others in the region." Crowley said Mitchell would also head to Bahrain to give a speech. Mitchell's planned visit to Bahrain comes after the country's crown prince Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa authored a column in the Washington Post calling on Arab leaders to reach out to the Israeli people by engaging with Israeli media outlets. That message was applauded by the State Department and Crowley said Mitchell would "have the opportunity to express once again our gratitude to Sheikh Salman for his message last week." Comments
