ANKARA — Shimon Peres addressed the Turkish Parliament on Tuesday and expressed optimism that the coming peace conference in the United States would help thaw decades of conflict with the Palestinians.

With his address, Peres became the first Israeli president to speak before the legislature of a Muslim country.

"We may be saying different prayers, but our eyes are turned toward the same sky and toward the same vision for the Middle East," Peres told an audience that included the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as well as the Turkish prime minister, Abdullah Gul.

Peres expressed Israelis' gratitude to the people in Turkey who opened their doors to Jews when they were expelled from Spain in 1492.