Israel no longer trusts Turkey, Erdogan says

ASTANA. November 19. KAZINFORM Israel no longer trusts Turkey to mediate peace talks with Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, signalling how much relations have deteriorated between the regional allies in recent months, Kazinform refers to Trend News.

Erdogan singled out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to trust Ankara, unlike his predecessor Ehud Olmert, and also said he did not think Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would accept a French role in mediating with Israel.

Turkey, NATO's only Muslim member, last year facilitated contacts that focused on Syrian demands for a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights -- which Israel captured in 1967 and annexed -- and Israel's accusations that Damascus arms militants in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Those contacts failed to produce formal negotiations, and Turkey's repeated offers to re-open the peace track have not resulted in further talks. Under Netanyahu, Israel has ruled out resuming Turkish-mediated talks with Syria, insisting that any new contacts must be direct.

Relations between Turkey and Israel have soured since the latter launched an incursion into the Gaza Strip in December.

Erdogan, whose ruling party traces its roots to a banned Islamist movement, has repeatedly criticised the incursion, even having a public shouting match with Israeli President Shimon Peres in January.

Netanyahu and Assad met French President Nicolas Sarkozy separately last week, and Israel said it is ready for talks, Kazinform cites Trend News. See www.en.trend.com for full version.