Turkey will not change its policy towards Israel
Turkey-Israel, Politics, 9/12/2001

The Israeli daily Jerusalem Post quoted on Tuesday the Turkish foreign minister Ismael Cim as saying in an interview that Turkey will not change its policy towards Israel just because the Arab states wants it to do so.

Cim added that Ankara is determined to improve its relations with Israel, describing the Turkish- Israeli relations as crucial for the region and do not threaten a third party.

The Turkish minister added that his country pins great importance on its relations with Israel with the aim of contributing to establishing stability in the region.

Cim also stressed that Turkey will not make any concession in its relations with Israel at a time when it tries to pursue a balanced policy with the Arabs. He said that Ankara will not " reduce" its relations with Israel just because the Arabs wants it to do so and simultaneously can not change its policy towards the Arabs, at a request from Israel.

On the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, Cim proposed his country's mediation to end this dispute and urged the two sides to end the violence and halt the bloodshed as soon as possible. He explained that due to its strong history, Turkey is completely persistent to intensify its efforts to reach a solution between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, noting that Turkey is the only country which is close to the two sides, at the same time and that Ankara will continue to seize chance through intensifying its shuttle diplomacy.

He said that Israel has not to wait until the violence is ended completely before they will have peace talks and meet on the same table to talks about sensitive issues.

The Turkish minister urged the two sides to abide by the Mitchell report and called on Israel to alleviate the economic restrictions imposed on the Palestinians considering that such restrictions will not contribute to the stability of conditions.

Previous Stories:
  Turkey and the Israeli esclation   (8/31/2001)
  Turkish- Israeli cooperation   (8/29/2001)
  Ankara calls on Israel to return back Orient House to the Palestinians   (8/17/2001)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search