Since the demise of the Ottoman Empire at the close of the First World War, Turkey, under the leadership of Mustapha Kemal, or as he was better known, Ataturk, withdrew the country into itself. The father of modern-day Turkey wanted to pull the country out of the Levant and attach it to Europe, something successive prime ministers have since been working to achieve.

The indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel that began last May have gone as far as they can. Their purpose -- to break the ice between the two states after eight years of not talking, and to test one anothers resolve over certain issues -- has been achieved. Now, Syrian President Bashar Assad wants to move forward, as evidenced in his proposal to Israel for direct peace talks at a recent four-way summit in Damascus involving Syria, Turkey, France and Qatar.

It was not enough for Syria to break out of international isolation. Now it is claiming the laurels of peacemaker and the status of a key player in the Greater Middle East.

PARIS -- President Nicolas Sarkozys visit to Damascus this month confirms the failure of his policy of isolating the regime of President Bashar Assad.

AMMAN -- Syria took international center stage Thursday as the isolated country stepped into the spotlight to host a major four-way summit that implicitly recognized the political weight of President Bashar Assad as a pivotal player in negotiations to establish peace and stability in the turbulent Middle East.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in Damascus Wednesday on a long-awaited visit as Paris tries to fill the diplomatic vacuum created by Washingtons policy of exclusion.

AMMAN – French President Nicolas Sarkozys upcoming two-day visit to Syria -- the first Western head of state to go there in five years -- is expected to help redefine the shifting pivotal role that Damascus has in the region, as the "rogue" state seeks to come out of isolation and into the international fold.

Analysts are concerned that recent Islamist trends in Ankara could threaten the long-standing amicable relations between Israel and Turkey. These fears were highlighted by legislation passed in Turkey on Feb. 9, which rescinded a law in the constitution banning the wearing of a traditional Islamic headscarf. However, in June Turkeys high court overturned this ruling, claiming it violated separation of religion and state.

It is quite understandable that Israel would be deeply disappointed by Turkeys decision to invite Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for an official visit. In Israels view, such a visit will only further legitimize a leader who is reviled for his denial of the Holocaust and for his repeated existential threats to the state of Israel. The question, however, should not be how much legitimacy Ahmadinejad may garner from this visit, but whether Turkish officials could potentially engender something positive out of this foray that could benefit not only Turkey but the entire region, including Israel.

AMMAN -- No progress was made on the Iranian nuclear standoff with the West during the controversial visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Turkey, the first NATO member state to receive him, but his mere presence in this U.S.-allied country carries important political significance.