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Turkey Welcomes UN Flotilla Probe

03 August 2010 03:03 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Turkey on Monday welcomed a decision on establishment of a UN panel of inquiry on May 31 deadly Israeli attack on Gaza-bound aid flotilla in which Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and an American of Turkish origin, APA reports quoting turkishny.com web-page.

The attack strained relations between Turkey and Israel to the point of breaking. Turkey, which withdrew its ambassador and suspended joint military exercises with Israel in protest of the attack, officially demanded an apology from Israel and an international investigation into the incident.
Turkish Foreign Ministry, in a statement, expressed full confidence in United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and said Turkey would make all contributions to works of the international committee.
Earlier in the day, Israel announced that it agreed to cooperate with United Nations in an investigation into the May 31 attack.
Ban Ki-moon, who also announced the launch of international committee, said the panel would start working on August 10 and submit its first progress report in September.
Foreign Ministry said it appreciated Ban’s efforts and resolute stance, adding that the investigation should be prompt, impartial, credible and transparent as mentioned in the Presidential Statement of the Security Council.
Turkey also said that it wished results of the inquiry would help build peace in the region and avoid recurrence of such violations.
UN PANEL OF INQUIRY TO AFFIRM SUPREMACY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, DAVUTOGLU SAYS
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday the establishment of a United Nations (UN) panel of inquiry on May 31 deadly Israeli attack on Gaza-bound aid flotilla in which Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and an American of Turkish origin would affirm the supremacy of international law.
In an exclusive interview with the AA, Minister Davutoglu said that he thanked the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for the establishment of the UN panel of inquiry.
Minister Davutoglu said that Israel agreed to cooperate with the UN in an investigation into the May 31 attack.
The May 31 incident is an issue more than just between Turkey and Israel. There was clearly a violation of international law on May 31. This violation of international law should be investigated by the international community. The killing of eight Turkish citizens and an American of Turkish origin was an incident that should have been investigated by the international community as the incident took place in international waters, Davutoglu also said.