ANKARA – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that Israeli Foreign Minister Isaac Herzog will pay a visit to Ankara in mid-March as the two countries work to rebuild diplomatic ties.
"We will try to establish our bilateral ties on a completely different foundation for the future, in a favourable way," Erdogan told reporters during his visit. Regarding Israel's special envoys to Turkey, Erdogan stated that Turkish special envoys would also visit Israel before to Herzog's visit.
Since 2010, when a Turkish-led flotilla attempting to break Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip collided with Israeli forces, killing ten Turks on board, Turkey's relations with Israel have deteriorated. Turkey and Israel had long enjoyed close ties, including military and intelligence collaboration, prior to 2010.
Because Erdogan is a prominent supporter of the Palestinian cause, reconciliation efforts have not resulted in a complete restoration of ties between the two countries. In a more recent spat in 2018, Turkey removed the Israeli Ambassador from Ankara after the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem. In recent months, the two countries have been working on a reconciliation, with Erdogan exchanging phone conversations with Herzog.
On January 16, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Ankara was interested in resuming negotiations with Israel for the transportation of Israeli natural gas to Europe via Turkey.
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