Gantz, who is running for prime minister in next week’s Israeli election, also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said today that he had asked his staff to begin the process of resuming working relations with Turkey after meeting with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara, the first such visit in more than a decade.
“As agreed in our meetings, I have instructed my staff to initiate the procedures required to resume working relations,” Ganj said at a joint press conference with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
Gantz, who is running for prime minister in next week’s Israeli election, also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Relations between Israel and Turkey have remained strained since 2011, when Ankara expelled Israel’s ambassador following the 2010 Israeli raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, which killed ten Turkish citizens.
Diplomatic relations were restored in 2016 and the two countries exchanged ambassadors. But two years later, Turkey recalled its diplomats from Israel and expelled Israeli envoys after Israeli forces killed Palestinians who had taken part in the “March of Return” protests in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier this year, Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Ankara in the first visit to Turkey by an Israeli leader since 2008.
“Moving forward, we need to take a firm, positive approach to our relationship – maintaining an open dialogue,” Ganj said.
Akar stated: “Improving our relations and cooperation with Israel, especially in areas such as defense, security and energy, will lead to important developments regarding regional peace and stability.”
Better relations with Israel “would facilitate the resolution of some issues on which we have disagreements, especially on Palestine,” the Turkish MFA said.
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