Abbas: "Democracy is the best way to bridge the Palestinian divide"

Speaking to a group of Turkish and Arab journalists at a dinner on Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was in Ankara to hold talks with top Turkish officials on recent developments and the future of Middle East peace talks, said that he welcomes Turkey's efforts to restore peace and stability to the region and to pull Hamas to the center. Abbas said they plan to call elections by establishing a national unity government, adding that that Turkey also supports this. Stressing that Turkey treats all Palestinian groups equally and only wants to promote peace, Abbas said the only way to bridge the divide among the Palestinians is democracy. "If Hamas wins elections, we will hand power over it, but for Hamas, democracy means just one election," he said. "To Hamas, democracy means coming to power through elections and then being able to cancel everything you have. Now Hamas is avoiding early elections." He also said that a recent Arab League statement urging non-Arab countries not to intercede in the situation was not directed at Turkey.