- Title: TURKEY: Turkey heaps pressure on Israel over Gaza at talks
- Date: 8th June 2010
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (JUNE 07, 2010) (REUTERS) CONFERENCE UNDERWAY VARIOUS OF DELEGATES LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER AHMET DAVUTOGLU, SAYING: "The Recent barbarous act of one member state again blurred the line between terror and state's responsibility. Criminal acts, Israel perpetrated against another member state for such a long time culminated with an attack to a civilian initiative which involves the citizens of more than 30 countries who aimed to bring aids to impoverished Gaza." MORE OF DELEGATES LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER AHMET DAVUTOGLU, SAYING: "This region has already suffered tremendously from conflicts. Now is the time to tackle issues with courage and resolve through dialogue. Therefore, we have significantly intensified our efforts to promote a negotiated solution through diplomacy or at least a meaningful advance that would take the dossier forward." (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN MEETING SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR ASSAD ERDOGAN MEETING ASSAD SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WALLID AL MUALLEM SITTING WITH SYRIAN DELEGATE CLOSE OF ASSAD CLOSE OF ERDOGAN CAMERAMEN FILMING ERDOGAN AND ASSAD ARRIVING FOR JOINT PRESSER CAMERAMEN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN, SAYING: "We consider the resolution that UN Security council has passed unanimously as a positive development. We hope that such positive developments will continue. We will continue to follow this process closely because leaving this issue behind would be a self-denial." CAMERAMEN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR ASSAD, SAYING: "Today I visit Turkey and condemn this incident in a show of support. As I have told to my brother Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President Gul that Syrian government and public will support any kind of decision Turkey would take on this matter." PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN GREETING PALESTINIAN LEADER MAHMOUD ABBAS ERDOGAN AND ABBAS ENTERING MEETING ROOM ERDOGAN AND ABBAS SHAKING HANDS AND SITTING CLOSE OF ERDOGAN CLOSE OF ABBAS TURKISH PRESIDENT ABDULLAH GUL MEETING IRANIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD CLOSE OF AHMADINEJAD CLOSE OF GUL MEETING UNDERWAY
- Embargoed: 23rd June 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey
- Country: Turkey
- Reuters ID: LVA5JJKKUTT11VFSC6N14Z4JKYXM
- Story Text: Turkey calls for international punishment of Israel for its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship.
Turkey called for international punishment of Israel for its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship, telling a regional summit on Monday (June 7) that Israel's blockade of the territory should be lifted immediately.
Leaders from Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan are attending the Eurasian and Middle East two-day summit, but Israel is sending a diplomat from its consulate rather than expose a more senior figure to the fury over last week's killings.
"The Recent barbarous act of one member state again blurred the line between terror and state's responsibility. Criminal acts, Israel perpetrated against another member state for such a long time culminated with an attack to a civilian initiative which involves the citizens of more than 30 countries who aimed to bring aids to impoverished Gaza," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
Turkey wants a final declaration by the Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) forum to condemn last Monday's raid by Israeli commandos in which nine Turks were killed.
"This region has already suffered tremendously from conflicts. Now is the time to tackle issues with courage and resolve through dialogue. Therefore, we have significantly intensified our efforts to promote a negotiated solution through diplomacy or at least a meaningful advance that would take the dossier forward," Davutoglu added.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who has said nothing would ever be the same between the two nations, accused Israel of using disproportionate force and of committing a "war crime".
Syrian President Bashar Assad said he wanted to show his support for Turkey.
"Today I visit Turkey and condemn this incident in a show of support. As I have told to my brother Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President Gul that Syrian government and public will support any kind of decision Turkey would take on this matter," Assad said.
Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map", is among eight presidents at the talks, which kicked off on Monday ahead of Tuesday's full summit. Ahmadinejad met Turkey's President Abdullah Gul on Monday. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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