AL QUDS, May 1: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived on his first official visit to Israel on Sunday, looking to repair damaged ties with the Jewish state and offering to mediate for peace in the Middle East. Erdogan held talks with Israeli President Moshe Katsav before visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and was later due to meet his counterpart Ariel Sharon.

His two-day visit will also see him head to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas. “I will tell my interlocutors again that should the parties request, Turkey is ready to help, be it mediation or hosting conferences on its soil,” Erdogan told reporters on his departure from Ankara.

“I will have the opportunity to discuss with them the concrete steps that can be taken to preserve the current atmosphere of calm and to revitalize the peace process.” The visit is seen as highly symbolic for Erdogan, whose Justice and Development Party has strong Islamist roots although he has stressed his commitment to secularism.—AFP