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Turkish President: Permanent peace in Mideast key to stable future for world

23 September 2010 22:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Thursday that a permanent peace in the Middle East was the key to a stable future for the world, APA reports quoting Earth Times.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Gul lauded US President Barack Obamaâ€™s efforts to encourage the Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct peace talks.
However, he cautioned: "It would be very difficult to make progress towards permanent peace unless we put an end to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza."
Gul referred to the May 31 interception by Israeli forces of a flotilla of Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ships, in which nine Turkish activists and one Turkish-American were killed.
"In the light of international law, Turkeyâ€™s expectation is a formal apology and compensation for the aggrieved families of the victims and the injured people."
He welcomed a report Wednesday by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which said the Israeli military interception was "clearly unlawful" and violent.
The report found "clear evidence to support prosecutions" because the Israeli military action amounted to willful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, which are crimes under the Fourth Geneva Convention.