Syria Today | President Assad makes two-day visit to Turkey

President Assad makes two-day visit to Turkey

Syria, Turkey and Qatar jointly called for a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear dispute during a two-day visit by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Turkey beginning May 8.

Assad held three-way talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in Istanbul on May 8. In an earlier meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Assad also said he was committed to peace negotiations with Israel under Turkish mediation. He added, however, that it is clear that Israel is not interested in peace.

"There is no peace, there is no peace process and there is no partner," Assad said. "It seems that peace is not required by the Israelis."

Addressing the Iranian nuclear issue, Assad said every country has the right to peaceful nuclear energy and that the Middle East should be a region free from all weapons of mass destruction.

"Syria believes that the international community should begin by inspecting Israel for nuclear weapons," he said. "Every political agreement must be based on international law."

Assad's trip was his second visit to Turkey in nine months. He was accompanied on the trip by Foreign Minister Walid al-Mu'allem, Presidential Political and Media Advisor Bouthaina Shaaban and Assistant Foreign Minister Abdel Fattah Ammoura.

"We as Syrian and Turkish officials no longer feel that we're travelling from one country to another when we visit each other," Assad told reporters during the trip.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the People's Assembly Mahmoud al-Abrash represented the country at a meeting of the executive committee of the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) member states in Istanbul on May 10. The meeting was held under the title 'Warning to Israel: New Settlements in Jerusalem Will Harm International Peace'.

Speaking before the meeting, Abrash said an international campaign of diplomacy needed to be launched to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem.