Region | Palestinian Territories
Turkey denies envoy's meeting with exiled Hamas leader
The spokesman for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied on Thursday that a Turkish envoy sent to Syria to try and help defuse the crisis in Gaza met with the exiled political leader of Hamas, Khalid Mashaal.
- AP
- Published: 00:00 July 7, 2006
Istanbul: The spokesman for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied on Thursday that a Turkish envoy sent to Syria to try and help defuse the crisis in Gaza met with the exiled political leader of Hamas, Khalid Mashaal.
It had been widely reported that the prime minister's adviser, Ahmet Davutoglu, met Mashaal in Syria.
"There was no such meeting. Mr Davutoglu went to Syria to pass on a message from the prime minister and only met with Syrian President Bashar Assad, then returned to Turkey," spokesman Akif Beki said.
The Islamic-rooted government of Turkey has been trying to balance its close friendship with Israel with its wish to see the leaders of Hamas renounce violence and become legitimate political actors.
Turkey was one of the first countries to invite Hamas officials, including Mashaal, for an official visit after the militant Islamist group's victory in Palestinian elections.
Israel views Hamas as a terrorist organisation and has recently said Mashaal is a legitimate target for assassination.
Davutoglu, the envoy, is currently in the United States with the Turkish foreign minister, where they met with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday.
Rice praised the diplomatic efforts of Turkey with Syria's government to ease worsening tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.
After a meeting with Gul, Rice noted that Turkish envoys have told Syrian authorities "as directly as possible" that they should use their leverage to secure the release of the Israeli soldier detained by Palestinians.
Rice called the Turkish role "very helpful."
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