ANKARA (A.A) - 09.04.2002 - Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou decided to go to the Middle East and meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Turkey thinks that it has to keep open its dialogue channels with both sides in the Middle East.
Diplomatic sources said that it was Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou who voiced first the idea of going to the region together. Papandreou who phoned Cem after his visit to Egypt asked Cem if it was possible for Turkey to launch a joint initiative.
The two ministers decided to go to the region together and they told Israeli that they wanted to meet with Arafat.
Diplomatic sources said that the visit of foreign ministers of two countries which were on the brink of war a few years ago to a region where there is violence has a symbolic meaning.
Meanwhile, Turkey wants to reflect collective initiatives similar to ''Istanbul spirit'' which came out as a result of Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)-European Union (EU) summit, to the region in order to decrease the tension in the Middle East. Turkey favours countries' acting together rather than individual initiatives by countries, diplomatic sources said. Turkey defends the view that OIC and concerned countries should also be included to the meeting held between U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and EU countries in Madrid.
While the telephone contacts between Turkey and the concerned sides continued, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem had a telephone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and OIC Term President Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheyh Hamad Al Tani this morning.
Peres on the other hand received Turkish deputies who are in Israel the same day. Peres told the deputies who wanted to meet with Arafat that ''Cem and Papandreou will meet with Arafat next week.'' Peres gave the signal that Israel supports the initiative of two foreign ministers.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry sources who evaluated the reactions to the M-60 tanks modernization tender signed with Israel, think that the developments in the Middle East and the bilateral relations of Turkey and Israel have to be separated from each other. Diplomatic sources said that neither Turkey nor a third side can bring a magical solution to the problem, adding that the countries yet continue to encourage Israel to withdraw from the region.
Turkey maintains its view that Palestinian head of state Arafat is the interlocutor of Turkey in Palestine, despite the recent statements of the U.S. which relinquished Arafat.