ANKARA — Israel's
president met with Turkish leader
Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on
Wednesday, in the first visit by an Israeli head of state to Turkey since 2007,
as the countries seek to mend fractured ties.
اضافة اعلان
President Isaac Herzog's trip to the Turkish
capital and Istanbul was planned weeks before Russia invaded
Ukraine, but the
conflict could feature at the talks, with both Israel and Turkey playing
mediation roles in recent days.
But bilateral issues may dominate following more
than a decade of diplomatic rupture between Israel and majority Muslim
Turkey,
a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause.
"We will not agree on everything, and
the relationship between
Israel and Turkey has certainly known ups and downs
and not-so-simple moments in recent years," Herzog said before departing.
"But we shall try to restart our
relations and build them in a measured and cautious manner," he added,
before boarding a plane with "peace and cooperation" written in
Turkish on its side.
After landing, Herzog and Erdogan proceeded
through an honor guard at the Mustafa Kemal Ataturk mausoleum, with
Herzog writing an inscription that praised Turkey's first president as a
"visionary leader" for choosing "the path of collaboration."
Relations between the two countries were
frozen after the death of 10 civilians following an Israeli raid on the
Turkish Mavi Marmara ship, part of a flotilla trying to breach a blockade by
carrying aid into the Gaza Strip in 2010.
A 2016 reconciliation agreement that saw the
return of ambassadors all but collapsed in 2018 in the wake of
Gaza border confrontations
that killed dozens of Palestinians.
Turkey has maintained strong relations with
Hamas who control Gaza. Condemning the Herzog trip on Wednesday, Hamas reiterated
its policy of rejecting "any form of communication with our enemy."
After the 2018 Gaza bloodshed, Turkey
recalled its diplomats and ordered Israel's envoy out of the country.
Asli Aydintasbas, a fellow at the
European Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP it was "quite likely" that the
reappointment of ambassadors will be announced during the trip.
Ukraine, Greece, Cyprus
Israeli officials have said that Herzog and
Erdogan may discuss prospects of exporting Israeli gas to
Europe through Turkey
— a notion raised by Erdogan in January — amid fears of impaired supply
following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Regional ties also remain sensitive, and
Herzog visited both Greece and Cyprus ahead of his Turkey trip to reassure the
two Israeli allies.
"At a time when the international order
is being shaken, it is good and proper that stability and partnership be
maintained in our region, and I emphasized this point during my visits to
Greece and
Cyprus in recent weeks," Herzog said before departing.
Herzog, who will hold bilateral talks with
Erdogan before a state dinner, will also meet members of the Jewish community
in Istanbul on Thursday, before returning to Israel.
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