Quds city, Jan 4, SPA -- The visiting Turkish foreign minister is carrying a message of peace from Syria to Israel, he said in an interview published Tuesday. Damascus is ready to renew peace talks without preconditions, the minister, Abdullah Gul, told the Haaretz daily. Gul also said the Turkish prime minister plans to visit Israel as part of efforts to improve relations. Gul arrived in Al-Quds city on Monday for two days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials. "In my opinion, the Syrian signals are serious and their intentions are good," he told Haaretz. "They expressed willingness to resume negotiations without preconditions and they expect a positive Israeli response." After meeting Gul in Ankara on Sunday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told reporters they had not discussed Turkish mediation between Syria and Israel but hinted that such a channel did exist. "Those are things that are best not spoken about publicly, but it's quite clear that Turkey does enjoy a very congenial relationship with Israel as well as with Syria," he said. Gul began his Al-Quds city itinerary Tuesday with morning prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque complex, the third holiest site in Islam. He then called on Israeli President Moshe Katsav and was scheduled to meet during the day with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to discuss Middle East peace efforts, strengthening bilateral ties and regional and international issues. On Wednesday, Gul will go to the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian officials. Before leaving Ankara on Monday, Gul told reporters he hoped Turkey could help restart peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis. "There is a new atmosphere concerning the Middle East peace process. This new atmosphere can yield good results," Gul said. "Contributing to this process would be Turkey's greatest duty." Friendly ties with overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey are important to Israel. Turkey is a key trading partner, and the two regional powers have had close military ties for years. "Usually the foreign minister prepares the ground for the prime minister's visit and that is true here as well," Gul said in the latest Haaretz interview. "But no date has yet been set."
