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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan in Jerusalem Monday. (GPO)
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Last update - 11:25 09/10/2007
PM tells Turkish FM that Golan will not be on agenda at summit
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
The fate of the Golan Heights will not be raised at the Annapolis peace summit, Prime Minister Olmert said Monday during a meeting with the Turkish foreign minister, Ali Babacan.

Olmert told the visiting foreign minister that only Palestinian issues will be on the agenda at the peace summit next month.

When Babacan said Turkey believes that the summit should include Israeli-Syrian negotiations as well, Olmert said: "I am happy with Syria's invitation to the summit, but only if it wants to be involved in our negotiations with the Palestinians. It would be wrong to include other issues."
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Olmert and Babacan also discussed Syrian-Iranian relations and Syria's involvement in Lebanon. "Syria is ready for dialogue and should not be isolated," the Turkish minister told Olmert. "There must be a way to negotiate with them. The only reason why Syria is allied with Iran is the international boycott that had been imposed on it. The two countries have nothing else in common," he continued.

Olmert did not accept Babacan's position and said that dialogue with Syria can only take place when it stops supporting terror. He acerbically asked the foreign minister, "If Syria's isolation is lifted, will it stop assassinating Lebanese members of parliament?"

Babacan replied that there is no evidence that Syria is behind the assassinations.

Another point of divergence in the meeting was the politicians' different approach to Hamas. The Turkish minister told Olmert that his country believes national unity should be maintained in the Palestinian Authority and that a split between Gaza and the West Bank, as well as between the different Palestinian factions, should be avoided.

Olmert replied that "national unity has universal importance, but one does not negotiate with terror organizations." Olmert also said that even Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is reluctant to negotiate with Hamas.

"Ask Abbas," Olmert said, "even he says Hamas is an enemy that has killed more Fatah men than Israel. We deem negotiation with Hamas unacceptable. We will negotiate with Hamas only when it accepts the conditions outlined by the international community, recognizes Israel and gives up terror."

Some of Olmert and Babacan's meeting took place behind closed doors, and according to a Turkish source the foreign minister may have mentioned the Israel Air Force's violation of Turkish airspace en route to the attack in Syria last month.

Babacan also asked Olmert to exert his leverage in the U.S. and especially in Congress to foil a bill to label the Armenian massacre during the First World War a genocide.



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  1.   How do we know IAF Fuel Tanks wernt dumped in Turkey by Syria 12:34  |  Alan 09/10/07
  2.   Will Turkey return LIWAA ALISKENDERUNA HATAY to Syria ?? 12:42  |  Alan 09/10/07
  3.   Alan.... they weren`t. 12:49  |  Lynn 09/10/07
  4.   Oye, now the Golan.... 13:17  |  Esther 09/10/07
  5.   Lynn-How do you know that?Do U have blind trust in Syria ?? 13:20  |  Alan 09/10/07
  6.   Golan not on agenda , the rest of Israel is 14:53  |  Sal 09/10/07
  7.   Babacan, you`re such a anti-semitic conspiracy theorist !! 16:15  |  Ari 09/10/07
  8.   @7 ari 16:56  |  kahlil gibran 09/10/07
  9.   I was thinking the exact opposite thing 17:25  |  Ari 09/10/07
  10.   @ari 17:57  |  kahlil gibran 09/10/07
  11.   A smart move, but Olmert still must go 18:06  |  Polybios 09/10/07
  12.   Golan is Israeli through and through! 18:23  |  Paul 09/10/07
  13.   NO NEED THEN FOR SYRIA TO ATTEND... LET DUMBO ABBAS DO THE TALKIN 19:03  |  TrippleJump 09/10/07
  14.   Free Golan first... then talk peace 19:03  |  Gilgamish 09/10/07
  15.   To Paul 19:11  |  Otto Rand 09/10/07
  16.   # 15 POINTS YOU RAISED 04:29  |  Grafted Wild Olive 10/10/07
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