ANKARA/PARIS/BRUSSELS: Turkey welcomed Wednesday a deal between Israel and Hamas in which a Franco-Israeli soldier, held for five years, is to be exchanged for more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners.
“We are happy,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, of the deal that will see the Palestinian militant group free Gilad Shalit, who they have held since 2006.
“The agreement that had been concluded is a good agreement,” he said.
“It is a positive development that will lower pressure” in the Middle East, he added.
Turkey was ready to contribute to “any peaceful effort” that would allow people kept from their loved ones to find their families – whether it be Shalit or the Palestinian prisoners, he said.
Turkey had in the past had direct and indirect contact with Israel and Hamas in a bid to free Shalit, said Davutoglu.
Khaled Meshaal, Hamas’ exiled political chief, had phoned him to brief him on the details of the deal, he said.
France also hailed the deal, with President Nicolas Sarkozy calling the agreement a “major success” for Israel.
Sarkozy’s office said the president was “delighted” at the news of the deal and “thanked all those who contributed to this agreement, notably Egypt for the essential role it played.”
The French head of state had spoken by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and congratulated him for this “major success,” said the statement, released late Tuesday.
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also welcomed the deal between Israel and Hamas. “I warmly welcome the news that Gilad Shalit will soon be able to return home after five years of captivity, putting an end to the long ordeal that he and his family have endured,” she said.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on October 13, 2011, on page 8.
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