TURKEY: Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speak at the Turkish parliament in reconciliatory drive from Turkish government

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres addressed the Turkish Parliament on Tuesday (November 13) as part a diplomatic drive by the Turkish government to bring the two sides closer together. Peres, the first Israeli head of state to address the Islamic nations' parliament, said he hoped economic cooperation would create peace in the region. "I hope that the 'Ankara Forum' and the programme that we have discussed this morning will blow a permanent wind of peace and will create an economic energy to transform this into a peace that will not only be felt in a summit meeting but also amongst the people. And a gate opening for a new era in which there is development instead of terror and science and technology create a significant potential to stop the harm to our spiritual heritage," he said. During his speech, Abbas thanked Turkey for supporting the drive towards a two state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "Turkey's regional and international efforts are very well known in Palestine. We are a brother country to Turkey and we believe that all fields can be developed with our cooperation. On this occasion I would like to underline the Palestinian claim. I would like to express my thanks for your support for an independent Palestinian state. You have always supported us," said Abbas. Following the parliamentary session both Abbas and Peres went on to meet with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and held talks on regional issues including upcoming U.S.-backed summit aimed at relaunching the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinian occupied territories. The Israeli president then flew on to Istanbul to visit the Neveh Shalom Synagogue which was targeted by militants in an explosion in 2003. Earlier on Tuesday (November 13), Turkish President Abdullah Gul hosted the 'Ankara Forum' where Peres and Abbas signed a trilateral framework accord for the establishment of an industrial zone in the occupied West Bank in which Turkish firms will make investments. Turkey had been waiting for the Palestinian leadership to agree on how much land could be used for the project which is set to create thousands of jobs in the impoverished region. Abbas arrived in Ankara on Monday (November 12) for the first leg of a regional tour which will take him on to Jordan and Egypt to discuss the fresh round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to be hosted by the United States in Annapolis, Maryland later in November. Muslim but secular Turkey wants to play a bigger diplomatic role in the Middle East and has a good relationship with both Israel and its regional arch-foes Iran and Syria as well as with the Palestinians.

ITN Source | November 14, 2007

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