Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Monday he hoped the next Israeli government would continue the Turkish-mediated indirect talks with Syria.
Syrian Foreign Minster Walid al-Mouallim, left, and Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan in Damascus.
Photo: AP [file]
Babacan, speaking Monday at a news conference in Ankara with visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, said, "There has been progress and both sides are happy about the point they have reached."
The fourth and last round of indirect talks in Turkey was held in July. A fifth round was put off following the resignation of Yoram Turbowicz, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's chief-of-staff who was heading the talks.
Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem said that while the indirect talks were likely to resume after a new government was established, it would take some time for Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni - if she is indeed able to put together a government - to evaluate the status of the talks and put together a team that would take the talks forward.
The sources said that the speed of the talks would be heavily influenced by what happened in the US elections, and to what degree the next US administration would make the Syrian track a top priority.
In a related development, the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana is scheduled to visit Damascus on Wednesday, where the indirect talks with Israel are expected to be a focus of the discussions. Solana is scheduled to meet Syrian President Bashar Assad, Vice President Farouk Shara and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.
Solana's trip to Damascus will be the final leg of a five-day Middle East tour that took him to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
AP contributed to this report
