Syria's Assad: ”The mideast peace process is unimaginable without Turkey”

On the last day of his official visit to Syria with a large business delegation, State Minister for Foreign Trade Kursad Tuzmen was received yesterday by Syrian President Bashar Assad and Prime Minister Naji al-Otri in Damascus. Meeting with Tuzmen, Assad said trade ties between Turkey and Syria are growing, adding that he hopes they come up to the level of bilateral political relations. "The Middle East peace process is unthinkable without Turkey. Without Turkey, the process will come to nothing," he said, thanking Turkey for its efforts for peace in the region. Turkey has mediated peace talks in Istanbul between Syria and Israel. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Tuzmen said, "President Assad has made important contributions to Turkish-Syrian relations. Mutual high-level visits are important for boosting the bilateral trade volume to $5 billion over the next three years." He added, "President Assad suggested that meetings to promote a compromise between some Arab countries and Palestinians should take place in Istanbul." As one outcome of the visit, Turkish vehicles carrying goods to Syria will no longer have to pay a border toll of $250, effectively cutting Turkish firms' transportation costs by 30 percent. Commenting on this decision during his meeting with Syrian Finance Minister Muhammad al-Husayn, Tuzmen said it will help cushion the impact of the global economic crisis on bilateral trade. Tuzmen said vehicles carrying transit goods should also be exempt from the toll, which would help Turkey's trade with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq.