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Israeli president in Turkey to address Parliament with Palestinian counterpart |
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Written by International Herald Tribune
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Monday, 12 November 2007 03:21 |
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Israeli President Shimon Peres arrived in Turkey on Sunday to address Parliament with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, just weeks before Israelis and Palestinians are expected to sit down at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference.
Peres on Tuesday will be the first Israeli president ever to speak before the legislature of a Muslim country. Abbas is expected to address the Turkish legislators later the same day.
Turkey, a NATO member and Israel's closest ally in the Islamic world, has in the past played the role of mediator between the Jewish state and its Muslim neighbors.
The U.S.-backed peace conference is expected to take place in Annapolis, Maryland, late November with the aim of relaunching Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
"Turkey can play a first-tier role in the peace process," Peres said last week in Jerusalem, adding that the country's moderate and democratic nature served as a counterweight to the extremist Islam embodied by Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the president's visit to Turkey "extraordinary."
"This is the first time the Israeli president has been invited to speak in a Muslim parliament, in a Muslim country," he said.
Abbas will arrive in Turkey on Monday and is expected to discuss Turkey's plans to set up a large industrial park in the West Bank that could provide jobs for thousands of Palestinians. Turkey is waiting for a decision from Abbas' government on how much land could be allocated for the project.
Abbas and Peres will meet in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Tuesday, Turkish state-run Anatolia news agency said. Peres said in an interview on private CNN Turk television on Sunday that the discussion will focus on the planned industrial zone in the West Bank. |