Egypt, Turkey hold Mideast talks ahead of ‘critical months’

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arrived in Ankara on Tuesday for a working visit during which he and his counterpart, Abdullah Gül, focused on the Palestinian cause, which they said is a “top priority” for both Egypt and Turkey.

The two leaders discussed the “threats posed to the peace process ... by the Israeli government’s practices in the West Bank and the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip,” Mubarak told reporters through an interpreter at a joint press conference following his talks with Gül on Tuesday. Mubarak said they had also discussed efforts to broker a deal to reconcile rival Palestinian groups.

Gül said Ankara was “closely following Egypt’s great efforts on issues related to [securing] Palestinian unity,” while pledging Turkish support “so that this issue is resolved as soon as possible.”

Egypt has been trying to push the Palestinian factions toward a power-sharing agreement. The division has also complicated efforts to restart peace talks with Israel. Mubarak has said Turkey and Egypt agree that the Israeli “position and actions” in the West Bank and its blockade of Gaza “posed a danger” to peace.

On Wednesday, Mubarak held talks with both Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. The ministers had returned from Damascus on Monday, where a forum of six Arab states plus Turkey urged Israel to halt all settlement activity so Middle East peace negotiations could resume. They also called on Israel to abide by previously signed agreements with the Palestinian side, to put an end to its illegal practices in East Jerusalem and to lift the siege on Gaza.

While talks on bilateral economic and commercial relations between Egypt and Turkey dominated the meeting between Mubarak and Babacan, Davutoğlu separately had talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and the chief of Egypt’s intelligence, Omar Suleiman, at a breakfast meeting on Wednesday.

Comprehensive consultations between Egypt and Turkey regarding the reconciliation efforts between Palestinian groups, developments in the Middle East, Israel and Syria, as well as issues about Iraq and Iran will continue, Davutoğlu told reporters following his meetings with Egyptian officials.

Davutoğlu noted he will probably pay a visit to Egypt before March 2010. “We consider the past months as lost months. Unfortunately, both the world and our region have missed very important opportunities in 2009. Very progressive steps could have been taken in the Middle East,” he responded when asked about the possibility of the resumption of peace talks in the Middle East with the new administration in Israel.

Turkey has still been exerting significant efforts to revive the process, he said, adding: “But it’s hard to say there has been progress to the extent we wished for. In this regard, steps to be taken, particularly in the first months of 2010, are very important.”

Not only Israel and Arab countries, but all international parties, such as the US and Syria, should get involved in the process, he said. Turkey last year mediated several months of indirect talks between Israel and Syria.

“The months ahead of us are critical. If positive developments take place, then they will trigger other positive developments. But if a negative course emerges, then it may pave the way for negative scenarios. That’s why there is need to closely follow all developments and to take the right steps at the right time.”

US President Barack Obama wanted to restart the peace process in his first year in office, but this looks unlikely.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a partial freeze in settlement building which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected as insufficient -- and an Israeli cabinet minister said last week that construction in the West Bank would continue.

Leading Israeli daily Haaretz, meanwhile, reported on Wednesday that the United States and Egypt, along with France, are planning a joint move to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks on the basis of the June 4, 1967 borders, territorial exchanges and a complete freeze on construction beyond the Green Line, including East Jerusalem. The freeze would not be announced publicly, Haaretz suggested.

The daily quoted an anonymous Egyptian source as saying that Egypt’s intelligence chief, Suleiman, is scheduled to visit Israel and then Washington in the coming days.