Ankara - Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday began an
official visit to Turkey where the top item on the agenda was
Turkey's efforts to act as a mediator between Syria and Israel.
Assad was to be guest of honour at a state dinner Tuesday night
hosted by his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul before starting
official talks on Wednesday with a number of Turkish leaders
including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In addition to Turkey's mediation efforts, talks were also expect
to touch upon a mysterious incident last month when Syria said it had
fired upon Israeli warplanes which had violated its airspace.
The Israeli planes were reported to have carried out airstrikes on
targets that are unknown. Turkey later complained after spent fuel
tanks were dropped by the Israeli planes inside Turkey. Both Israel
and Syria have not fully explained the incident.
Assad's visit comes amid an ongoing crisis of Turkish plans to
launch incursions against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.
The Turkish government is seeking parliamentary approval for a
cross-border operation into Iraq to destroy Kurdish rebel bases in
the mountainous border region.
Assad's first visit to Turkey since early 2004 also follows his
recent confirmation that Turkey is playing a mediation role between
Syria and Israel.
In a recent newspaper interview, Assad was quoted as saying: 'We
have told them (Turkey) that our stance toward peace does not change.
All we want is a clear declaration by Israeli officials of their
desire for peace and returning (occupied) land to Syria.'
Relations between Syria and Turkey have included consistent
development in all fields and a mutual desire to ensure security and
stability in the region, Syria's official news agency Sana reported.
Turkey is a key investor in Syria, with 33 mainly industrial
projects worth 150 million dollars having been approved over the last
two years.
Bilateral trade increased from 257 million dollars in 1992 to 635
million dollars in 2004.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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