Babacan: "Turkey will continue to mediate peace talks between Israel and Syria"

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday that indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria through Turkish mediators would continue periodically in the future, adding that both sides were satisfied that this week's three-day talks in Istanbul had created "a common ground. "The Israeli-Syrian leg of the Middle Eastern peace process officially resumed after 13 years and the talks will continue under Turkey's supervision," Ali Babacan told a joint press conference with the visiting foreign minister of Burkina Faso in Ankara. He added that the contents of talks would not be made public in line with the will of both Israeli and Syrian officials, and future talks might be held elsewhere other than Istanbul or Turkey.