A senior Turkey official said Thursday that indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria through Turkish mediators would continue periodically in the future, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday.
"The Israeli-Syrian leg of the Middle East peace process officially resumed after eight years and the talks will continue under Turkey's supervision," said Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.
He said both sides were satisfied that the talks, which went on from Monday to Wednesday in Istanbul, had created "a common ground."
Babacan said future talks between the two parties hinged on concrete progress they would make in the process, adding that "Turkey will do anything in its power to secure a successful result. "
Meanwhile, the Turkish minister also said that the contents of the talks would not be made public in line with the will of both Israeli and Syrian officials, and future talks might be held elsewhere other than Istanbul or Turkey.
Both Israel and Syria announced on Wednesday that they are holding indirect peace talks through Turkish mediators, the first official confirmation of contacts between the two, which have technically been in a state of war since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war when Israel captured the strategic Golan plateau from Syria.
In statements issued minutes apart, the two governments said they "have declared their intent to conduct these talks in good faith and with an open mind," with a goal of reaching "a comprehensive peace."
Both sides thanked Turkey for its desire to create a political momentum between them, as well as its contribution to the resumption of peace talks.
The last round of peace talks between Syria and Israel broke down in 2000 over the fate of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2008)
