Turkey's prime minister said Saturday he was mediating between Syria and Israel to restart low-level peace talks as a prelude to bringing the leaders of the long-time Mideast foes together. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the statement after a five-hour visit to Syria where he met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and discussed the mediation efforts. Al-Assad said the talks “focused on means to activate the process of just and comprehensive peace.” He praised the Turkish initiative and said Syria would cooperate “in whatever brings security and stability to the region.” His statement was carried by Syria's official news agency. “There was a request from Syria and Israel for this kind of an effort and Turkey will do its best in this regard,” Erdogan said on his return to Turkey. “This effort will start among the lower level (officials) and if they are successful, God willing, they will end with a higher level meeting,” he added. Israel had no immediate comment on Erdogan's statement. But the recent developments suggest some progress in back-channel contacts between Syria and Israel despite heightened tensions over Lebanon and an Israeli airstrike on a suspected nuclear reactor in Syria in September. Erdogan did not mention statements by Syrian officials and media in the past week saying that the Turkish president recently delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Syria indicating Israel was willing to give up the Golan Heights in return for a peace treaty. Israel has refused to comment on the reports. But Olmert said earlier this month that he sent messages to Damascus on peace prospects though he would not disclose the contents. Before leaving for Syria, Erdogan outlined his mediation. “In the first place, we are thinking of getting officials appointed from both sides together. If this yields positive results, efforts will begin to bring the leaders together,” he told Turkish state
