Posted on 01/27/2004 9:17:17 AM PST by knighthawk
JERUSALEM : Israel has given Turkey a green light to help revive peace talks with Syria , though it is unaware of any concrete plan for Turkish mediation and would favour direct contacts with Damascus .
"The Turkish government has expressed its willingness to facilitate, but I do not know of any concrete proposal right now," Raanan Gissin, media spokesman to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said on Israel TV's Channel One on Saturday night.
Turkey has passed messages between Jerusalem and Damascus in the past and would be welcome to do so again, he said. "We have good relations with Turkey and we are not against this kind of involvement," he added.
Israel is willing to negotiate without precondition, but insists that Syria must stop supporting terrorism, the report said quoting Gissin
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is expected to begin his shuttle diplomacy to jump-start the talks in the coming days, it said.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.