Syria says only Turkey can act as mediator with Israel
AFP
DAMASCUS- Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Sunday that only Turkey can act as an intermediary in any indirect peace negotiations between Syria and Israel.
"Turkey has shown itself to be an honest intermediary. Indirect talks must therefore be under Turkish mediation, and begin in Turkey at the point where they stopped" in December 2008 when Israel attacked the Gaza Strip, he said.
He ruled out any country other than Turkey being involved in indirect talks, telling reporters: "Any efforts by other parties will consist of helping the Turkish role."
Muallem was speaking on the sidelines of a Syrian-Turkish ministerial meeting in the northern port of Lattakia.
Turkey began mediating in May 2008 between Syria and Israel, primarily focusing on the Golan Heights plateau Israel occupied in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed.
Four rounds of indirect talks lasted just over six months until they were broken off by Israel's turn-of-the-year offensive against the Islamist Hamas-ruled Gaza enclave.
Since then, Turkey's ties with Israel, previously a close regional ally, have badly deteriorated amid vehement criticism from Ankara of the Jewish state's heavy-handed policies against the Palestinians.
Israel's relations with Ankara chilled even further when Israeli commandos attacked a ferry carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on May 31, killing nine Turkish activists.
Muallem said Syria-Turkey relations "form the basis for stability in the Middle East," and were "an example to follow."
He said it had been decided to establish a four-nation cooperation council that also includes Jordan and Lebanon.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference that Ankara and Damascus wanted to increase their cooperation with Amman and Beirut in order to attract investment to the region.
"I am sure that such cooperation will help in finding solutions to the problems of the region," he said.
Syrian Deputy Vice President Mohammed Hassan Turkmani told the news conference both countries would work to make the Middle East prosperous and stable.
"We share with Turkey a common political vision: we want to contribute to guarantee stability and security in the region," Turkmani said.
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Muallem was speaking on the sidelines of a Syrian-Turkish ministerial meeting in the northern port of Lattakia.
Turkey began mediating in May 2008 between Syria and Israel, primarily focusing on the Golan Heights plateau Israel occupied in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed.
Four rounds of indirect talks lasted just over six months until they were broken off by Israel's turn-of-the-year offensive against the Islamist Hamas-ruled Gaza enclave.
Since then, Turkey's ties with Israel, previously a close regional ally, have badly deteriorated amid vehement criticism from Ankara of the Jewish state's heavy-handed policies against the Palestinians.
Israel's relations with Ankara chilled even further when Israeli commandos attacked a ferry carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on May 31, killing nine Turkish activists.
Muallem said Syria-Turkey relations "form the basis for stability in the Middle East," and were "an example to follow."
He said it had been decided to establish a four-nation cooperation council that also includes Jordan and Lebanon.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference that Ankara and Damascus wanted to increase their cooperation with Amman and Beirut in order to attract investment to the region.
"I am sure that such cooperation will help in finding solutions to the problems of the region," he said.
Syrian Deputy Vice President Mohammed Hassan Turkmani told the news conference both countries would work to make the Middle East prosperous and stable.
"We share with Turkey a common political vision: we want to contribute to guarantee stability and security in the region," Turkmani said.
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