Turkey can help normalization of Arab-Israeli ties

"As a country which has the trust of both Palestinians and Israelis, Turkey is ready to make every kind of contribution it can make to peace efforts," President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said as he welcomed his Israeli counterpart Moshe Katsav who arrived Ankara for a two-day visit.

Turkish officials have repeatedly expressed support for a U.S.-backed initiative to bring a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a plan, called Road Map, which has been drafted to that effect.

"The Middle East should no longer be a region associated with troubles," Sezer told reporters and added that Turkish support for the Road Map was still in place.

Katsav said there were still problems that needed to be resolved, despite the progress accomplished recently, but expressed optimism that there were still prospects for peace between Israel and Palestine.

He said Turkey and Israel had shared interests and development of relations between the two countries would contribute to security and stability of the region.

"Turkey can make important contributions to normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries in both the region and the world," he said.

The Israeli president visits Turkey at a time when relations between Turkey and the United States, already at a low over Turkey’s rejection of a U.S. request to open a northern front from Turkish soil, were strained after detention of Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq by American forces.

Katsav said cooperation between Turkey, the United States and his country was necessary for both the region and the world.

In addition to holding talks with Turkey’s political leaders, the Israeli president is expected to attend today meetings with business circles in Istanbul on a mission to boost economic ties between Turkey and Israel.

Sezer said the two countries had a strong will to develop existing cooperation and further improve the relations, emphasizing that Turkish and Israeli economies complemented each other in many ways. Sezer was optimistic that the volume of trade between the two countries, measured as $1.3 billion last year, could be further increased.

Katsav met Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and opposition leader Deniz Baykal in Ankara and was due to fly to Istanbul for economic talks today.