( RIA Novosti ) - The end of the Israeli occupation of Arab lands will ensure peace in the Middle East, the Palestinian president said on Tuesday.
"If Israel ends its occupation of Arab lands, peace will prevail in the region. There will be no wars or conflicts in the Middle East," Mahmoud Abbas said.
Abbas was speaking in Ankara after the signing of an agreement on the creation of a Turkish industrial park in the West Bank.
Israeli President Shimon Peres, who also participated in the signing ceremony, said that the project, which will create around 5,000 jobs for Palestinians, would be beneficial for all concerned parties.
"We thoroughly support the effort, which will make an important contribution to the peace process," he said.
Peres said on Monday he hoped a peace agreement with the Palestinians could eventually be achieved.
"Peace takes time. If we use it right, we will achieve peace," the Israeli president said, adding that his country was set on making a success of U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations in Annapolis scheduled for the end of this month.
The two leaders are also due to separately address Turkey's parliament. In doing so, Peres is set to become the first Israeli president to speak before the lawmakers of a Muslim country, while Abbas will become the first Palestinian president to address Turkey's parliament.
The Israeli president had earlier said that one of the major issues on the agenda of negotiations in Ankara would be Turkey's possible mediation in the Middle East peace process.