Pak Sahafat- the President of Israel has paid an official visit to Turkey for the first time in more than ten years. Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope that the meeting would be a turning point in his country’s relations with Israel.
According to Pak Sahafat News agency, Israeli President Ishaq Herzog traveled to Ankara on Wednesday (March 9th) for an official visit to Turkey to hold talks with Turkish officials.
Arriving in Ankara, Herzog said: “Israel and Turkey can and must cooperate in various fields.” He noted that this could have a significant impact on the region.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the meeting “historic” and expressed hope that it would be a “turning point” in relations between the two countries. After these words, Ishaq Herzog and Recep Tayyip Erdogan shook hands in front of the media camera for a long time as a sign of unity.
Turkey and Israel were once close allies, but relations between the two countries soured after 10 Turkish citizens were killed in an Israeli naval attack on an aid ship to Gaza.
Read more: The burning of the Israeli flag in Turkey on the eve of Herzog’s visit to Ankara: https://www.paksahafat.com/en/?p=21084
Turkey and Israel tried to get closer again in 2016, but have not had ambassadors since the Gaza crisis in 2018, which opened around the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
According to Ishaq Herzog’s office, 2007 was the last time an Israeli president visited Turkey.
Turkey is interested in improving economic relations between the two countries. Israel, on the other hand, is working with several other countries on a gas pipeline project through the eastern Mediterranean, which Turkey has so far abandoned. This has caused great dissatisfaction with the Erdogan government.
Referring to the Ukraine war, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday spoke of the importance of “energy security” and said that Turkey was willing to participate in the gas transfer project.
Both Turkey and Israel have good relations with Russia and Ukraine, and both have been cited as “potential mediators” in resolving the Ukraine crisis.
At the initiative of Turkey, the Ukrainian and Russian Foreign Ministries Dmitry Kohlba and Sergei Lavrov will meet in Antalya on Thursday (March 10th).