Independent Palestinian state only solution to Mideast crisis

Ravindra Nath

13 April 2010
MUSCAT — Turkish President Abdullah Gul has reiterated that the only solution to the Middle East crisis is the creation of an independent Palestinian state that co-exists with Israel.

“The Palestinian cause is very important and should be solved by establishing an independent Palestinian state. Reconciliation among Palestinians, therefore, is very important because without it there will be a defect in the Palestinian structure.

“There should be an independent Palestinian state that coexists with Israel. There should be stability, security and peace in this region,” the Turkish leader said in an interview ahead of his first official visit to the sultanate.

He said his country was making endeavors and good efforts to help the Palestinians reach a compromise. Turkey also supports the Arab initiatives in this area, he added.

“We would like to be fair in this issue. Our relation with Israel and our brothers in Palestine is based on just and lasting peace. We believe that there is a possibility for Israelis, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese to live in peace. We want to talk to all of them to establish peace,” Gul said.

Gul described the Palestinian problem as the “core issue in the Arab region” because, he noted, “it does not belong to the Palestinians or the Arabs or Muslims alone, but is rather a human issue.”

The region, he said, was “witnessing some of the tragedies of this cause. We feel sorry when we see such tragedy and when there is no compromise among the Palestinians. There have been strong reactions in the whole world for what is taking place in Palestine and the Palestinian territories.”

Turning to the Iranian issue, he said Turkey believed in the importance of dialogue among counties, adding: “Dialogue is very important. Iran is one of our neighboring countries and we can understand the Iranian role very well. We seek also to assist in this area.

“As for the indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel, it should be noted that we are a neighboring country to the region and other countries as well. Therefore we may play a good and constructive role, especially since we don’t have any hidden agendas or seek to share any gains. We rather seek to achieve stability and security.”

Gul, who is accompanied by a high-level delegation consisting of ministers, members of parliament and businessmen, said Oman’s geographic location in the Arabian Peninsula and its rich cultural inheritance have made it “a country with distinguished tourism potential,” also underlining the scope for cooperation between the two sides in the tourism sector.

The Turkish President referred to his country’s ‘deep-rooted and growing’ ties with Oman, adding that Ankara was keen to step up these relations to higher levels.

He said his country was looking forward to increasing tourism cooperation with Oman and called upon holidaymakers from the Gulf state to visit Turkey to enjoy its many tourist attractions. He noted that Turkey received around 27 million tourists annually.

Source: Khaleej Times.
Link: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/April/middleeast_April181.xml§ion=middleeast&col=.