Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan changes direction: In his remarks today (Friday), he declared that “Israel’s policy regarding the Palestinians is unacceptable, but Turkey wants to improve its relations with Israel.”
He added: “Our intelligence relations with Israel continue. We have difficulty managing relations with the people who are at the top. Relationships would have been very different, if there were no troubles with those at the top.”
Erdogan’s adviser on international relations, Prof. Mesut Jashin, declared this week: “Full diplomatic relations may be restored by March. Why not?” Jashin said these things to the VOA agency.
According to Jashin, Turkey is interested in restoring relations. “If Israel comes one step towards us, we will come two steps towards it. If we see a green light, Turkey will reopen the embassy and return the ambassador.”
The remarks were made two and a half years after the Turkish Foreign Ministry expelled the then Israeli ambassador, Eitan Na’a, against the background of the clashes with Hamas in the “return marches” in May 2018.
Former Turkish MP: “Erdogan can not erase history” // Photo archive: Democracy Foundation (FDD)
Today, the senior echelons of Israel in Ankara and their Turkish counterparts in Tel Aviv are defined as the head of relations (chargé d’affaires). The current senior Israeli diplomat in Ankara is Roi Gilad, who must know Jashin well. “Concern for peace and security is very important to both Israel and Turkey,” stressed Jashin, who also added an interesting reference to the Maui Marmara flotilla. “We do not want further incidents with Israel,” he stressed.
Regarding Admiral Yaji’s proposal, which resonated throughout the eastern Mediterranean, Jashin concluded: “Israel is discovering oil and gas, it is a country with a relatively small population and the largest market they can sell is through our pipelines – towards the EU.”