TURKISH MINISTER CALLS FOR ISRAELI SUPPORT AGAINST US ARMENIAN RESOLUTION

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
March 6 2007

Tel Aviv, 6 March: "We wait for the support of Israeli businessmen
against the Armenian resolution submitted to the US Congress,"
Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said on Tuesday [6 March].

Tuzmen delivered a keynote speech in a seminar titled "Turkey-Israel
economic and commercial cooperation" in Tel Aviv, where he is on his
first formal visit to Israel.

Kursad Tuzmen noted that the "peoples of Turkey and Israel have lived
together in harmony and friendship. We now expect your support for
Turkey on the Armenian matter."

Minister Tuzmen stressed that relations between Turkey and Israel do
not merely stem from historical ones. "Turkey comes second as the
country that receives most Israeli tourists. Only the USA receives
more Israeli tourists than Turkey," told Tuzmen.

Tuzmen underlined that, with the realization of an energy pipeline
between the Black Sea and Red Sea, the region will become more
prominent globally.

On the other hand, Israel’s minister of tourism, Yitzhak Herzog,
hosted a lunch in honour of Tuzmen today.

Speaking to the press corps, Herzog indicated that they "consider
Turkey a strategic partner. Tourism between Turkey and Israel
contributes to bilateral relations."