Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will pay an official visit to Saudi Arabia at the weekend and is expected to travel to Israel next week, the Turkish foreign ministry said Friday.
Cem's meetings in the Saudi Kingdom on Saturday and Sunday will focus on bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues, ministry spokesman Huseyin Dirioz told a news conference here.
The Turkish minister is expected to go to Israel next week upon an invitation issued by his Israeli counterpart, Shlomo Ben Ami, during the two-day meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in Marseille this week.
"At this point, we are planning for the visit to take place mid-week," Dirioz said, adding that Cem's itinerary was not yet determined.
Cem's visit comes as part of Ankara's efforts to diffuse tension in the Middle East and persuade both Israel and the Palestinians to put the peace process back on track.
"We are hopeful that our efforts for peace will bear fruit because there is no alternative to the peace process," Dirioz aded.
More than 238 people, mostly Palestinians, have been killed and hundreds of others injured since violence between Israelis and Palestinians erupted in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel on September 28.
Turkey, a predominantly Muslim but secular nation which has close ties both with Israel and the Palestinians, has repeatedly urged the two sides to end the violence and resume negotiations on a permanent peace settlement -- ANKARA (AFP)
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