Turkey allows 3-month reprieve for traders but denies backtrack on Israel export ban
Omer Bolat says claims of a walkback are ‘entirely fictional’; however, businesspeople with existing deals are allowed to continue shipping for next 90 days
ANKARA, Turkey — Israeli claims of Ankara easing its trade ban with Israel are “absolutely fictional and have nothing to do with reality,” Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said on Thursday, as Ankara introduced a three-month reprieve for companies with existing export deals to Israel.
Relaxing Turkey’s ban on exports to Israel is “out of the question” though companies have three months to fulfill existing orders via third countries, a Turkish trade ministry source said Thursday.
According to a document seen by Reuters and reported by other news outlets, the Turkish Trade Ministry outlined the three-month reprieve for companies exporting to Israel.
The latest steps aim to protect Turkish traders, another source from the ministry said.
However, the minister said Turkey’s trade ban with Israel will remain in place until a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian aid flow to the region is secured.
Ankara introduced the trade ban last week.
Earlier Thursday, Foreign Minister Israel Katz mocked Turkey’s reported decision to partially walk back the ban on X, saying Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “backtracked and canceled many of the trade restrictions, and the lesson is clear: We must not surrender to the threats of a dictator, and we must create alternatives and not depend on the Muslim Brotherhood guy who can stop it all at any moment.”
The Globes business news site had first reported that Ankara had temporarily authorized the renewed supply of construction materials to Israel.
Citing unnamed Israeli and Turkish officials familiar with the matter, the report said Turkey’s Trade Ministry sent letters announcing the decision to local factories that had worked with Israel before the export ban.
The report said that senior Turkish trade officials had met Trade Ministry officials Wednesday and complained about the export ban.
Globes also said, without citing a source, that Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the Economy Ministry are working to end Israel’s dependence on Turkish imports in the long term, and that efforts are being made to strengthen ties with Greek and Cypriot suppliers.
