FM Gul's visit to Syria
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Turkish FM & Deputy PM Abdullah Gul urged Syrian administration to fully implement UN resolution no:1701 and support transformation process in Lebanon, sources said on Wednesday. According to diplomatic sources, Gul in his meeting with the Syrian officials indicated that the region experienced sorrowful experiences in the recent past, adding that everybody should learn a lesson from those incidents.
It was reported that Syrian executives reacted positively, however noted that the reason of the problems is not only limited with the recent incidents in Lebanon, but the issue must be considered within the broader scope of
Israel-Palestine and Syria-Israel problems.
Meanwhile, Turkey inquired the possibility of use of Syrian territory to ship logistics in case it decides to send troops to Lebanon. It was reported that Syrian executives indicated their approbation regarding this matter.
In case a decision is made to join the peace-keeping force, most of the Turkish troops are planned to be send by ships and equipment is planned to be shipped by lorries.
Diplomatic sources think that Turkish government could take this sensitive decision within a week.
On the other hand, Ankara's decisiveness not to join the activities aiming to disarm Hezbollah came forefront. Ankara is actually following closely the aftermath of U.S. President Bush statement saying that, "a new UN resolution
could be adopted asking peace-keeping force to disarm Hezbollah".
President Bush had emphasized that an international force should be deployed soon to maintain cease-fire in Lebanon, and that United Nations could adopt a new resolution defining the authorities of the international force.
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MEETING WITH FAMILIES OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS
Meanwhile, Turkish diplomats are wondering how the meeting between Turkish FM Abdullah Gul and the families of abducted Israeli soldiers, was covered in the (Turkish) media. Diplomatic sources said Israeli party did not want this meeting to appear in media.