Turkish FM says he’ll visit Israel, discuss reinstalling ambassadors

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says that he will travel to Israel and the Palestinian Authority in mid-May.

Speaking to Turkish TV channel A Haber, Cavusoglu says he will discuss the return of ambassadors to Turkey and Israel, according to Reuters.

Once robust regional allies, Israel and Turkey saw their ties fray during the tenure of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians.

Israel has been upset by Erdogan’s warm relations with Hamas, the terror group that controls the Gaza Strip.

The countries reciprocally withdrew their ambassadors in 2010 after Israeli forces were attacked when they boarded a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for the Palestinians that attempted to break an Israeli blockade, killing 10 Turkish citizens in the altercation.

Relations slowly improved but broke down again in 2018, after Turkey, angered by the United States moving its embassy to Jerusalem, once again recalled its envoy from Israel, prompting Israel to reciprocate.

Cavusoglu, in his comments today, also says that a gas pipeline between Israel and Turkey will not happen in the near future.

After the Biden administration dropped its support for the EastMed gas pipeline in January, Erdogan indicated that he wanted Turkey to be involved in the import of Israeli gas to Europe, saying there had been “some progress” on the matter in the past, and suggesting a new project that would involve Ankara.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine made clear to European leaders how important it was to develop alternatives to Russian natural gas.