Turkish FM urges Hamas to give up arms: report
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has urged the Palestinian movement Hamas to lay down its arms and engage in peaceful politics, in newspaper interviews published Tuesday.
"Hamas should make a decision: is it going to be an armed organisation or a political movement? We advise them to be part of the political process," Babacan told the popular Milliyet daily.
The minister spoke amid criticism at home that Ankara acted as a supporter of Hamas — considered a terrorist group by the West — during the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, dealing a blow to its ties with the Jewish state, a key regional ally.
"We cannot approve of what Hamas is doing, but peace cannot be achieved by ignoring Hamas," Babacan said in further remarks, published in the liberal Radikal.
"A mid-way formula should be found… Hamas is a reality in Gaza," he said.
The criticism has been directed mostly at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who lashed out vehemently at Israel almost daily during the 22-day offensive, pinning the blame for the conflict on Tel Aviv.
A senior aide to Erdogan, meanwhile, acted as a mediator between Hamas leaders based in Syria and Egyptian officials seeking to hammer out a ceasefire deal in Cairo.
Predominantly Muslim non-Arab Turkey has been Israel”s main regional ally since 1996 when the two signed a military cooperation agreement.
Turkey at the same time has maintained close relations with the Palestinians and supports their cause for statehood.
Ankara”s criticism of Israel has become more vocal since Erdogan”s Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party came to power in 2002.