Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the bilateral ties between Turkey and Israel have entered a new era “thanks to the strong will of both sides”.
Erdogan made the remarks on Thursday in phone talks with Israel’s Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, the first of its kind between the two leaders after years-long strained ties between the two countries, Xinhua news agency reported.
During their phone talk, Erdogan said that it is in the interest of both sides to continue the relations by “respecting sensitivities based on mutual interests and to strengthen them on a sustainable basis,” according to a statement issued by the Turkish presidency.
For his part, Netanyahu told Erdogan that Turkey’s mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine are important for the world.
The two sides also offered each other condolences for the attacks that took place in Istanbul and the West Bank recently.
The relations between the two countries were strained in 2010 when a Turkish-led flotilla attempting to break Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip clashed with Israeli forces, killing 10 Turks on board.
The two countries, however, have been working to mend their ties this year. Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Turkey in March, the two sides held talks on pipelining natural gas from Israel to Europe via Turkey, and they reappointed ambassadors to each other in August.
–IANS