ISTANBUL - Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that he had urged Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey to put off his planned visit to Gaza to avoid disrupting efforts to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
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“We have expressed to the prime minister that we really think that it would be better to delay,” Kerry said at a news conference.
“The timing of it is really critical with respect to the peace process that we are trying to get off the ground,” Kerry said. “We would really like to see the parties begin with as little outside distraction as possible.”
Kerry, who has made three trips to the Middle East since becoming secretary of state, has also been trying to lay the groundwork for renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. He recently told Congress that the window for a two-state solution - the establishment of a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel - is closing, and it would be imperative to make progress in the next two years.
Toward that end, Kerry met in Istanbul on Sunday with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.
U.S. efforts to get peace talks off the ground have been complicated by the resignation this month of Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister. Kerry acknowledged that Fayyad’s resignation was a disappointment but said he hoped a worthy successor would be found.
At the same time, U.S. officials have tried to head off any upset in the efforts to restore relations between Israel and Turkey.
President Barack Obama brokered a rapprochement between Israel and Turkey last month during his visit to Israel. The aim was to foster the full resumption of diplomatic relations between the two states, including the return of ambassadors.
Ties between Israel and Turkey suffered a serious setback in 2010 when the Israeli military intercepted the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ship that was trying to run the naval blockade on supplies to Gaza, and met resistance on board. Nine activists - eight Turks and one American of Turkish descent - were killed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel apologized for the raid during Obama’s trip in March, and a team of Israeli officials was arriving in Turkey on Sunday to discuss compensation for the families of those killed or wounded.
Erdogan has said he planned to go to Gaza, and he is also scheduled to visit Washington and meet with Obama in May.
Kerry’s next stop is Brussels, where he is scheduled to attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 04/22/2013