Turkey and Israel to patch it up (quietly)
Güncelleme Tarihi:
ISTANBUL - Israel and Turkey are involved in quiet but intensive talks to end the crisis in relations between the two countries, reported the Israeli daily Haretz yesterday.
Officials from both countries have exchanged messages regarding the need to restore relations to an even keel and hope to do so in the coming days, the daily reported, attributing the information to a senior Jerusalem source.
The relations between the two countries have been strained since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan harshly criticized Israeli President Shimon Peres at World Economic Forum in Switzerland’s Davos last month, because of the military operation in Gaza. He then stormed off the stage and said Peres's statements were false.
Erdoğan also said later he left in response to the moderator of the forum as he touched Erdoğan’s shoulder and tried to interrupt his speech. The communication exchange between the two countries follows a letter that President Abdullah Gül sent Peres a few weeks ago, in which he expressed the desire to visit Israel in the coming months, the daily wrote.