Turkey's Erdogan Walks Out Of Davos Over Israel's Attacks On Gaza

ANKARA, Turkey -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walked out of a heated debate with Israeli President Shimon Peres about the Gaza Strip conflict, at the Davos World Economic Forum late on Thursday (January 29th). Turkey had criticised Israel's actions throughout the Gaza operation earlier this month. In Davos, Erdogan criticised the Israeli government's attitude towards the Palestinians, as well audience members who applauded Peres as he defended Israel's actions. Erdogan walked out saying the moderator had given him far less time to speak than Peres.

"If we are moderated in this way, we will not leave Davos with what we want to achieve at this meeting and it will cast a shadow on the efforts for reaching peace," Erdogan explained. Arriving back in Istanbul, he received a hero's welcome from a huge crowd at the airport. Erdogan said Peres has phoned him to apologise for his tone. (Sabah, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Zaman, DPA, BBC - 30/01/09)