Prospects for war have grown: Assad

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=133569§ionid=351020206



Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the current tension between Israel and Turkey has increased the possibility of war in the region.

Assad cautioned on Monday that if "relations between Israel and Turkey are not renewed, it will be very difficult for Turkey to continue its role in the [peace] negotiations," the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported. "The chances of peace grow slim, and the prospect of war grows," he noted.

In 2008, Turkey mediated four rounds of indirect talks between Damascus and Tel Aviv. The talks stalled following the December 2008-January 2009 war on Gaza, which left over 1,400 Palestinians dead and inflicted more than $1.6 billion in damage on Gaza's economy.

Assad added that "Turkey knows the ins and outs of the Middle East," and "there was never such a significant factor as Turkey for peace talks, and the stability of the region."

Ankara's relations with Tel Aviv hit an all-time after the attack on the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31, which left nine Turkish citizens on board the M.V. Mavi Marmara dead.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday that Ankara would sever all ties with Israel if Tel Aviv did not offer a formal apology over the attack.

However, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman insisted that Tel Aviv would not apologize.