Turkey and Israel will return ambassadors to diplomatic missions, relations will be restored in full, Erdogan and Lapid agreed. Previously, the parties accused each other of supporting terrorism
< /p> Yair Lapid
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to restore diplomatic relations in full and return the ambassadors of the two countries to the capitals, the Israeli Prime Minister's office said.
“After a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Israel and Turkey fully restore diplomatic relations,” The statement said.
Contacts were conducted through the Foreign Ministries.
Lapid called the restoration of relations between Israel and Turkey “an important asset for regional stability and very important economically for the citizens of Israel.” He stressed that the authorities intend to continue “strengthening Israel's international status in the world.”
Relations between Israel and Turkey were almost severed after the attack by the Israeli armed forces on the Mavi Marmara ship, which was delivering aid to the Gaza Strip. Marine units landed on the Mavi Marmara, after which a battle took place on board the ship. As a result, nine Turkish citizens were killed (one of them, as it turned out later, also had an American passport), and several Israeli soldiers were injured. The Israeli authorities refused to apologize for their actions, while accusing Turkey of supporting terrorism.
The parties then repeatedly exchanged accusations. Erdogan called Israel “an occupying state” and a “terrorist state”, while the Israeli Defense Ministry accused Ankara of acquiring oil from the Islamic State. (ISIS, recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia). “Islamic State” has been using Turkish oil money for a very, very long period of time,— said then Minister Moshe Yaalon.
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Last year, when clashes began on the border between Israel and Palestine, Erdogan called the country's policy towards the Palestinians a genocide, and the state itself — terrorist. “As we strongly supported Azerbaijan's struggle to liberate its lands from occupation, today we oppose oppression in Palestinian cities and Jerusalem with the same feeling,” Erdogan emphasized then.
Turkey and Israel noted the “promotion of positive dialogue” in a relationship at the end of June this year, when Lapid inflicted sees in Ankara. The Turkish Foreign Ministry reported that the parties plan to soon hold a high-level meeting, study the formation of a mixed economic commission, establish political and regional consultations, and expand cooperation in the field of agriculture and tourism. The key topic of discussion will be cooperation on security and protection against terrorist threats, Minister Mevlut Cavoshoglu stressed.
Lapid then thanked Ankara for saving the lives of Israeli citizens who were under threat of attacks from Iran in Turkey. “We are talking not only about the murder of innocent Israeli tourists, but also about the clear violation of Turkish sovereignty by Iranian terror,” he explained. The Times of Israel pointed out that it was about the detention by Turkey of eight people who allegedly worked for Iranian intelligence and planned to kidnap or assassinate Israeli tourists in Istanbul.
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