Today's Zaman (Turquie) : "Israel attempts to make Russia major player in Mideast" par LAMİYA ADİLGIZI

Israel attempts to make Russia major player in
Mideast

Israel's close relations with Russia and Turkey's decreasing role in Israel's foreign policy have marked the transformation of Russia into a considerable power in Middle Eastern affairs.

 A recent meeting between Israeli President Shimon Peresand his Russian colleague, Dmitri Medvedev, in Sochi supported this point. On Aug. 18, the Israeli president, during his meeting with Medvedev, expressed his confidence in Russia's role in the Middle East peace process, for which there has yet to be a solution. The Russian president said conflicts persisting in the Middle East should be solved as quickly as possible and Russia, as a part of a quartet of international mediators, is ready to assist in this solution.

 However, regional experts disagree with this statement. Adjunct senior research fellow Shlomo Gazit from the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), a think tank based in Israel, told Sunday's Zaman that although he highly regarded Turkey's ambitions to help bring about reconciliation between Israel and Syria after their long-lasting territorial dispute, he is not optimistic about the results of these efforts. Commenting on the Israel-Syrian indirect talks, Gazit, a prominent expert on Israeli foreign policy, said: “I am a strong supporter of Israeli-Syrian peace talks, and I would like very much to see a political settlement between our two countries. From this point of view, I highly appreciate the present Turkish initiative, which tried to bring peace between Israel and Syria.”

 "We have enormous respect and great appreciation for Turkish efforts. But they have not succeeded -- not because of the Turks," Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon stated on Tuesday. This does not necessarily mean that Israeli-Syrian talks have failed under Turkish auspices. “Nevertheless,” Gazit continued, “I am afraid the present Turkish approach has no serious chance for success.”                                                                                                

 Stating that the Turkish negotiation efforts were ambiguous and their success seemed improbable, Gazit also noted that Israel no longer trusts Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his outspoken criticism at Davos concerning Palestinians. “Turkish [Prime Minister] Erdoğan is not presently considered in Israel as an honest broker, following his attitude and statements during the recent military encounter in the Gaza Strip,” he noted. Moreover, the expert believes direct negotiations are imperative between Israel and Syria.

 The Israel-Syria indirect talks began with Turkey's mediation to secure the return of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967, to Syria. Despite over a year of negotiations, the two sides failed to reach a clear solution. Ayalon said on Tuesday that Israel will no longer continue talks with Syria under Turkish mediation. He stated that direct talks are a............................................
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23 August 2009, Sunday
LAMİYA ADİLGIZI  İSTANBUL

http://www.todayzaman.com/tz-web/news-184797-israel.....