Israel might accept Turkey as a mediator to restart stalled talks between Syria and Israel, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday. While Israel has not yet endorsed Syria's proposal of Ankara as an interlocutor in their frozen peace talks, it is moving in that direction, he told journalists in Riyadh. “There is an interest in revitalizing these talks. Syria wants Turkey as the mediator,” he said. “Israel has been moving on this so possibly we can restart talks, I hope,” he said. Erdogan spoke in Turkish and his remarks were translated into English. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying “No decision has been taken to renew the Turkish mediation.” It added: “but if these comments reflect Turkey's desire to strengthen its relations with Israel and to contribute to peacemaking in the region – then Israel would clearly welcome that aspiration.” The last round of Turkish-mediated indirect peace talks was launched in May 2008 but collapsed at the end of that year when Israel launched a devastating military offensive in Gaza. In December 2009, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman dismissed indirect talks with Syria through Turkish mediation, calling instead for direct talks, to be held in Damascus and Jerusalem.
