Sunday, December 27, 2009

Lieberman: As Long as i'm FM, no Turkish mediation in Syria talks

(Haaretz) .Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday declared that Turkey had no place in mediating peace talks between Israel and Syria, despite "hints" to the contrary made by his government colleagues.

Lieberman lambasted Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Labor chairman and high-ranking ministers, who accused of "proposing and hinting that there is place for Turkish mediation."

"Stop creating illusions and disseminating things that have no connection to reality," Lieberman warned. "If you think that after [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogans comments [about Israel] we would agree to Turkish mediation, even if it meant smiles and visit, forget about it."

"So long as I am foreign minister and Yisrael Beiteinu is in the government, there will be no Turkish mediation,The Syrians want to talk? Then direct negotiations, only."