Turkey aiming to get Syria, Israel meet face to face

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Turkey will host a fourth round of indirect talks between Israel and Syria later this month, with the aim of bringing the bitter enemies to talk to each other directly, an official said Friday. Turkish mediators have been shuttling between the Syrian and Israeli delegations in Istanbul throughout three rounds of talks that began in May. No result has been made public. Previously, Turkey had been holding contacts with the two countries, laying the groundwork for the indirect talks. A Turkish government official said a fourth round of talks was scheduled for the end of July. That round would aim to get direct talks started, he said, but warned that it may still be early for a breakthrough. The official, who is in contact with the Turkish mediators, spoke on condition of anonymity because the meetings are not public.