Turkey Urges Israel, Palestinians Not to Act "Unilaterally"The Turkish government called on Israel and the Palestinians not to take unilateral actions that will harm the Mideast peace process, Turkish Daily News reported Friday.Turkish officials told visiting Israeli envoy Shlomo Ben-Ami that Ankara wants the two sides to sort out their disputes through U.S. mediation, without taking any "unilateral" action to deride the current peace process, diplomatic sources here said. As envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Ben-Ami, the Israeli public security minister and acting foreign minister, paid a one-day visit to Ankara on Thursday, informing Turkish leaders of the developments of the Middle East peace process after the failed Camp David summit. Ben-Ami's visit was viewed as a counter-measure against a recent visit to Turkey by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat who sought Ankara's support for his unilateral declaration of the Palestinian statehood. Prior to Ben-Ami's visit, Israeli officials said that they were "satisfied" with Turkey's statements issued after the Camp David peace talks and Arafat's visit to Ankara. During his last Saturday's visit, Arafat urged Muslim Turkey to play a more active role in the Mideast peace process, especially in the talks with Israel over the future status of Jerusalem. The Ottoman Turks had ruled Jerusalem, as well as the rest of the Middle East, for 400 years until early 20th century. Turkish leaders assured Arafat that they would stress Ankara's sensitivity over the Jerusalem issue, but they made no clear support for Arafat's decision to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state. On Thursday's meetings with the Israeli delegation, Turkish officials raised the Jerusalem issue, saying that the city is a holy place to three religions and its status should be determined by taking this fact into consideration, the diplomatic sources said. It was reported that Ankara is not eager to get involved in the Mideast peace because it faces a dilemma between its Muslim brother Palestine and its Mideast ally Israel. In a statement, however, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Turkey would seriously consider ways to contribute positively to the peace process which is vital for the stability and prosperity of the region. Analysts said that Israel did not want Turkey's direct intervention in the Mideast peace process, but appreciated Ankara's moderate advice to Arafat. Turkey is trying to pursue a balanced position in the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, they added. When the Middle East peace process was launched in Madrid, Spain, in 1991, Turkey allowed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Office in Ankara to be turned into an embassy. On the other hand, Turkey has formed close military, political and economic ties with Israel in order to contain their common rivals Syria and Iran in the Middle East. Turkey was one of the first Muslim countries to recognize Israel in 1948, but then lowered its level of diplomatic representation to charge d'affaires in Tel Aviv in 1981 when Israel declared Jerusalem as its "eternal" capital. It also closed its consulate-general in Arab East Jerusalem as well. However, Turkey reciprocally upgraded its diplomatic relations with Israel to the level of ambassador in 1991 when it turned the PLO Office in Ankara into an embassy. |
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