RIYADH, 25 February 2007 — Turkey yesterday reaffirmed its strong support for the Middle East peace process while pledging to work with Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations to advance efforts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who held wide-ranging talks with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah here yesterday, said that his visit to the Kingdom is aimed at coordinating positions and boosting efforts to resolve the conflict.
Erdogan said: “My talks with the king focused on a whole range of regional issues including stepped-up efforts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with special reference to Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.”
“We also discussed the nuclear developments in Iran,” said the Turkish premier, adding that “on my return from the Kingdom, I will send immediately a technical team to Israel to find out facts about the excavation works done near Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Erdogan’s visit to the Kingdom came ahead of the meeting of the foreign ministers of seven key Muslim states in Islamabad today. The meeting, which seeks to give a collective push to end the turmoil in the Middle East, will be attended among others by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul.
Referring to the Feb. 8 Makkah pact between Palestinian factions, the Turkish premier said: “We support the unity government, which has come out of the Makkah agreement.” He also lauded King Abdullah’s efforts in this regard.
On the question of Israel’s move to carry on excavation work near Al-Aqsa Mosque, Erdogan, who will be attending the inaugural session of the Jeddah Economic Forum, said that Tel Aviv has agreed to a Turkish inspection. “Olmert, during his recent visit to Ankara, agreed to the inspection of construction work, which has sparked violent protests across the Muslim world,” he added.
About prospects of peace between Israel and Syria, the Turkish prime minister said that “our efforts are also directed on this issue and, in fact, on all issues to reach a comprehensive peace in the region.”
