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"All truth passes through three stages:
First, it is ridiculed;
Second, it is violently opposed; and
Third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) -
Israeli and Turkish foreign ministers hold first meeting since rift over Hamas
(Updated 05:12 p.m.)
2006/5/29
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met Monday with her Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, to discuss bilateral ties, the Hamas-led Palestinian government and Iran's nuclear program.
It was the first meeting between Livni and Gul since Ankara hosted a February visit by Hamas' exiled political leader Khaled Mashaal, sparking a brief rift between Israel and Turkey.
Hamas, which won Palestinian elections in January, is responsible for killing hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks.
Earlier, Livni met with Yigit Alpogan, head of Turkey's National Security Council. She is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
Israel places great importance on its relations with Turkey, one of the only Muslim nations to have good relations with the Jewish state as well as the Arab world.
The two countries have long had strong military ties and important trade links.
The two have differed, however, on their approaches to dealing with the new Hamas-led Palestinian government.
After the radical Islamic group won the Jan. 25 Palestinian parliamentary elections, Israel worked to internationally isolate the Palestinian government. The United States and the European Union, which list Hamas as a terror group, cut off all aid to the Palestinian Authority, demanding that the group renounce violence and accept Israel's right to exist.
Erdogan has criticized the EU for cutting off aid to the Palestinian government, and Gul met in February with Hamas' Mashaal in Ankara. Turkey said it urged Hamas to abandon violence in the meeting.
The Hamas issue was the second time relations have been strained since Erdogan, whose party has its roots in Turkey's Islamic movement, came to power in 2002.
In 2004, Erdogan accused Israel of state terrorism amid continued bloodshed between Israel and the Palestinians, with whom many Turks sympathize.
Relations thawed after both Gul and Erdogan visited Israel last year, expressing hope that Turkey could act as a mediator between Israel and the Muslim world."All truth passes through three stages:
First, it is ridiculed;
Second, it is violently opposed; and
Third, it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
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