Friday, March 27, 2009

Turkey offers restart of Mideast talks


ANKARA, Turkey, March 27 (UPI) -- Turkey's prime minister says he is ready to again take on the duties of a mediator for peace talks between Israel and Syria.

From UPI.com

Turkish Prime Minister Recept Tayyip Erdogan told a television interviewer Friday that Turkey is ready "to do our best" if both countries request resumption of talks, The Jerusalem Post reports.

"We are determined to do whatever we can for peace in the Middle East," said Erdogan. "All issues should be resolved at the negotiating table."

Turkey mediated four rounds of indirect talks between Israel and Syria last year. Those talks ended when Israel carried out a military incursion against Hamas in response for continual rocket attacks, The Journal of Turkish Weekly said.

Erdogan's criticism of the operation prompted senior Israeli officials to say that Israel was reconsidering Turkey's role as a mediator in the region.

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