Turkey says Syria-Israel talks may start; Israel says no decision yet
By APTuesday, March 9, 2010
Turkey says Syria-Israel talks may restart
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s prime minister said Tuesday that Israel had accepted that his country again mediate talks with Syria but the Israeli prime minister said no decision had been made.
“Syria wants Turkey’s mediation,” the state-run Anatolia news agency quoted Recep Tayyip Erdogan as telling journalists during a visit to Saudi Arabia. “Israel has accepted this.”
“I hope that we can start the new process,” the agency also quoted him as saying.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying “No decision has been taken to renew the Turkish mediation.”
It added: “but if these comments reflect Turkey’s desire to strengthen its relations with Israel and to contribute to peacemaking in the region — then Israel would clearly welcome that aspiration.”
Erdogan’s spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Turkey mediated several rounds of indirect negotiations between the Mideast rivals in 2008, but little progress was made.
Syria later suspended the talks in response to Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, and Israeli officials said Turkey’s scathing criticism of Israel’s role in the conflict had disqualified it as a mediator.
