Israel's Barak meets with chief of staff Buyukanit, president Gul

Visiting Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak was received separately yesterday by Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit and President Abdullah Gul. During their talks, Gul pointed to recent efforts to get the Palestinian-Israeli peace process back on track, saying, "Continuing this process is very important for lasting peace in the Middle East . We strongly condemn the attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip and advise Israel to keep its composure and resist provocations, though there are some who want to sabotage the peace process. Otherwise the two-state solution will not be realized." For his part, Barak said, "We understand Turkey 's view on the issue. If we had acted under provocation, we would have taken action before now." He also praised Turkey 's role on regional issues, saying that Turkey could help convince Syria to take a more productive stance. During his meeting with Buyukanit, Barak said that Israel supports Turkey 's fight against the terrorist PKK by, for example, sharing its military technology and intelligence. Barak also stated that defense-related deals between the two countries total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.