- Title: TURKEY: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON HAS ARRIVED IN ANKARA
- Date: 8th August 2001
- Summary: (W4) ANKARA, TURKEY (AUGUST 8, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SLV/SV AIRPLANE ARRIVING (2 SHOTS) 0.11 2. SV OF SECURITY 0.17 3. SV ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON LEAVING AIRPLANE, MEETING TURKISH OFFICIALS 0.42 4. SV SECURITY 0.48 5. SV SHARON WALKING TO HIS CAR (2 SHOTS) 1.12 6. SV FLAGS 1.17 7. SV OF
- Embargoed: 23rd August 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Reuters ID: LVACIYX9PLW3GXWND2PZRJVRJEVH
- Story Text: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has arrived in
Ankara to urge his closest Middle Eastern ally to press
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to end a 10-month-old
uprising.
Sharon's first official visit to Ankara on Wednesday
(August 8) since he was elected in February showcases Israel's
vigorous strategic ties with the region's other military
heavyweight against the backdrop of a Palestinian revolt
against Israeli authorities.
Sharon met Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and was
due to meet President Ahmet Necdet Sezer later on Wednesday
(August 8).
After meeting Ecevit, Sharon said he was ready for painful
concessions for peace, but Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
must decide if he sought to head an independent state or a
"gang of murderers".
He blamed Arafat for not keeping his supporters in check.
Ecevit said it was important not to play into the hands of
those who were determined to thwart peace through violence.
Dozens of people were arrested in Istanbul on Tuesday
(August 7) when they held a protest against Sharon's visit,
which sparked headlines such as "Terrorist visitor" in one
Islamist newspaper.
Another Islamist paper, Akit, carried a photo-montage on
its front page of Sharon as a vampire with blood dripping from
his teeth. The papers recalled the massacre of hundreds of
Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps during
Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon for which Sharon was found
by an Israeli state inquiry to be indirectly responsible.
While Muslim Turkey backs Palestinian aspirations for
statehood in the West Bank and Gaza, it maintains an alliance
with Israel in many fields, including close military and
security cooperation as well as growing trade.
Defying the displeasure of the Arab world, non-Arab Turkey
allows Israeli planes to use its airspace to train fighter
pilots. It also keeps close defence industry ties with Israel.
In recent weeks Israel's defence minister and chief of
staff have also visited Turkey.
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