30/06/2010 11:54
Erdogan again demands that Israel to apologize
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said in the interview with PBS television’s Charlie Rose aired late yesterday that while Turkey remained “a friend to Israel,” the coalition government under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “the biggest barrier to peace” in the Middle East.
The U.S. should take a leading role in dealing with the aftermath of Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla of aid ships last month during which nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed.
“The U.S. administration should take ownership of the situation because there was an American involved,” he said.
The Turkish leader once more demanded that Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza, to apologize for "recent events" and to pay compensation to the families of those killed in the Gaza-bound flotilla violence and the people of Gaza. Without apologizing for the Gaza blockade, Turkey will not continue to play a mediator role in the indirect talks, Erdogan threatened.