Turkey Remains Best Peace Broker

28-July-2009

Turkey Remains Best Peace Broker

28-July-2009

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Tuesday, 28 July, 2009
Turkey remains best placed to mediate between Arabs and Israelis, said a July 22 opinion article in the pro-government newspaper Al-Watan.



On the day of the official visit of Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Damascus, columnist Khorshid Dally wrote that Ankara enjoyed good relations with both sides in the conflict.



Erdogan said Turkey was ready to resume its role as a peace broker between Syria and the Jewish state. Indirect talks between the two countries were suspended in January following the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.



Dally stressed that Damascus strongly supported a Turkish role in the peace process and welcomed any form of cooperation with Ankara that leads to security and stability in the region.



The author said that Turkey was concerned to mediate in peace talks because of its major economic interests in the region.



He said that Ankara had already achieved success during four rounds of indirect talks and could now move towards a new stage of negotiations between Syria and Israel that could possibly be direct this time.
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