Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri said on Thursday that Pakistan has decided to engage diplomatically with Israel following the developments in Israel and the Gaza Strip, Turkey's semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

"Pakistan attaches great importance to recent developments in Israel and Gaza. Pakistan has therefore decided to engage diplomatically with Israel," Kasuri told a news conference after meeting with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Istanbul.

Kasuri said the key to a durable peace regionally and globally depends on finding a solution to long-standing disputes such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

For his part, Shalom hailed the meeting as historic and considered it as the beginning of a new era.

"I am sure that this meeting will be followed by more meetings in the future. We hope that finally it will lead to full diplomatic relations with Pakistan as we would like it with all Muslim and Arab countries," Shalom said.

The top Israeli diplomat thanked Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for his initiatives and support for peace between Israel and the Muslim world, stressing that a new opportunity of dialogue and peace has emerged.

Turkish State Minister Mehmet Aydin, who hosted the meeting, said, "An important step has been taken regarding the Middle East peace process. We all know that further steps will be taken in the coming days. The Turkish government will continue to provide all kinds of assistance to settle peace in the Middle East."

Turkey is one of the four Muslim countries that have full diplomatic relations with Israel. The other three are Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania.

Pakistan has long taken a hard line against Israel and has been a staunch supporter for Palestinian's struggle for statehood and an end to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Source: Xinhua