Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want Ankara serving as a mediator in any future diplomatic negotiations with Syria, Israeli media reports said over the weekend. During a visit to Israel by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, Netanyahu told Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos that he objects to Turkey resuming its role as mediator and does not see how the country can become “an honest broker” between the two sides, reports said.
Davutoğlu's remarks on the issue came at a joint press conference following his talks with visiting Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout, when he was reminded of Netanyahu's remarks.
During translation, a mistake was made and what was originally meant to be said was actually not the word “honest,” but “impartial,” Davutoğlu first of all noted. “Last year's indirect Israel-Syria talks showed how honest a broker we are. At the time, we had a mediation initiative which was appreciated by both the then-Israeli government and the Syrian government,” he said, adding that Turkey would maintain its principled stance on regional and global issues, including such mediation efforts.
Israel has extensive defense ties with Turkey, a NATO member and one of the few Muslim nations to have built an alliance with the Jewish state. Yet tension prevails in the ties between Israel and Turkey, particularly since Ankara's harsh criticism of Israel's three-week offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in December and January. Turkey's sensitivities over certain issues stem from this principled stance, Davutoğlu said, underlining that the most appropriate mediation could be done by countries which have strongly settled principled stances.
“Our region needs to turn back to the dynamism of peace,” he said. When this happens, and when parties request, Turkey is ready to do its best, he continued: “We don't consider mediation worthy in and of itself. Mediation is worthy only if it's going towards peace. We have never done any mediation which didn't go towards peace via aiming at PR [public relations], and we will never do so.”
When reminded of concerns over possible attacks on Turkey's Jewish society, Davutoğlu said: “They are our citizens, and their security is sacred. There has never been an anti-Semitic attitude in Turkey throughout history, and there will not be from now on.” The minister highlighted that the security of both Jewish citizens and foreign missions in Turkey has been guaranteed.
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