ANNAPOLIS - Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Tuesday that resuming peace talks between Israel and Palestine would be a turning point.
Babacan, who attended the Annapolis conference, delivered a speech at the third session of the meeting and said that the joint understanding memorandum read by the U.S. President George W. Bush was a "critical turning point" concerning peace efforts.
Babacan said revival of peace talks was a historical step and welcomed the determination of the parties to discuss all core issues during the negotiations.
Babacan said the Middle East problem should be resolved in accordance with the United Nations resolutions and based on Arab Peace Initiative, noting that two democratic states should live side by side within recognized and secure borders.
"Today we are witnessing to a new era. We are all hopeful. But the period which will follow Annapolis conference will be crucial and very sensitive," he said.
Babacan said there would be challenges and efforts to block peace talks and added that all parties should avoid taking unilateral steps that would escalate tensions.
He also called on Palestinians to overcome fragmented structure in Palestine which could cause problems in the future regarding peace talks and urged parties not to miss this opportunity (Annapolis conference).
"Once again, I would like to express that Turkey is ready to continue to contribute to peace process in an active way," Babacan told the conference, saying Turkey is eager to host future meetings.
Stating that Turkey has four basic principles regarding its Middle East policies, Babacan specified them: political dialogue to resolve problems, security for everyone, improvement of economic cooperation and a common life at a multi-cultural and multi-ethnical region.
Following his speech at the Annapolis conference, Babacan left United States for Madrid, Spain to attend the meeting of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).