Israel, Turkey officials meet in bid to smooth relationship crisis

Mon, 06 Dec 2010

Tel Aviv - An Israeli and a Turkish official have met in Geneva to discuss the crisis in relations between the two former close allies - the first such bilateral encounter in months, Israel Radio reported Monday.

The crisis was sparked by Israel's assault on a flotilla headed to Gaza in May, during which Israeli commandos shot dead nine Turkish stick-wielding civilian pro-Palestinian activists on board the Turkish Mavi Marmara.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the Foreign Ministry, asked by the German Press-Agency dpa, would not confirm or deny the Sunday meeting.

A senior Israeli official said he would not comment on any specifics, but did tell dpa "Israel regrets deeply the deterioration in the relationship between Jerusalem and Ankara and firmly believes that a more positive relationship is in the fundamental interest of both sides."

He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Netanyahu reportedly sent Yosef Ciechanover, Israel's representative to the United Nations commission investigating the flotilla deaths, while the Turkish Foreign Ministry sent Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu, to the Geneva meeting.

It comes after Turkey sent two planes to Israel to help fight its worst ever forest fire, which over the past four days burnt 50 square kilometers of the Carmel Hill and killed 42 Israelis.

Netanyahu on Friday personally thanked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the assistance and said he hoped it would be the beginning of an improvement in the marred ties.

"We very much appreciate this mobilization and I am certain that it will be an opening toward improving relations between our two countries, Turkey and Israel," Netanyahu told Erdogan, according to a statement.

Netanyahu also told reporters at Haifa's Rambam hospital that Israel would "find ways to express our appreciation."

Turkey's good ties with Israel started to sour when Ankara criticized Israel's December 2008 to January 2009 offensive against Gaza.

And they hit a low when Israel overpowered the Gaza-bound flotilla in May in international waters.

The Turkish premier has insisted that his country will not begin to restore relations with Israel until it apologizes for its "savage attack" on the vessel. Israel has ruled out such an apology.

Only last month, the depth of the crisis was exposed when the WikiLeaks website unveiled diplomats' cables briefing Washington, one of which claimed that Erdogan "hates" Israel. Ankara has denied that.

Another from the US embassy in Ankara said that when Turkey booted Israel from a joint exercise in June 2009, diplomats managed to present it publicly as a "postponement." But, said the cable, "the relationship is souring."

The unconfirmed Geneva parley was the first since Israeli Trade and Industry Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer secretly met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Brussels in July.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356777,bid-smooth-relationship-crisis.html.