Azerbaijan , Baku, June 17 / Trend A. Tagiyeva /
Turkey is faced with a number of obstacles in the process of EU accession. It began conducting a course of rapprochement with the Arab world, realizing that it must intensify its relations with Arab countries, said the Regional Director of the "Omsam" organization Naseer al- Humoud , who is also the Permanent Observer of the Economic and Social Commission.
He said that Turkey has more political influence in the region compared to other countries in the region.
"Turkey has great political, economic and military power," Naseer al- Humoud told Trend via e-mail from Amman. "It is united with the Arab countries by Islam and its common history. This allows it to interfere in the internal problems of Arab countries."
A number of countries of the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and Libya have been covered by people's discontent since early 2011. This resulted in riots and protests against the existing regimes in these countries. The people's riots have led to the downfall of the ruling regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. At present, a fierce struggle between the authorities and armed insurgents continues in Libya.
Naseer al- Humoud said that Turkey is related to many events taking place in the Arab region. Turkey clearly expressed its position when the events began in Egypt.
But Turkey did not immediately reveal its attitude when these types of events began in Syria and Libya, Naseer al- Humoud added.
Naseer al- Humoud said that after the Justice and Development Party won parliamentary elections in Turkey , Ankara will intensify its role as mediator in resolving the crises in the Arab region.
"Turkey particularly is intensifying its role in resuming peace talks between Israel and Arab countries," Naseer al- Humoud said.
Ankara acted as the international mediator in indirect talks between Syria and Israel two years ago, which ended in December 2008 after the Israeli army launched a large-scale military operation in Gaza.
In an interview with Turkish TV channel on Wednesday, Syrian President Bashar al- Assad addressed Damascus 's readiness to resume the negotiations with Israel under Turkish mediation. Syria calls for a guarantee to the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied Golan Heights in 1967. Israel insists on negotiations without preconditions, but says that if Syria wants peace, it must distance itself from Iran and stop supporting the Lebanese resistance movement "Hezbollah".