Washington favors Turkish-Israeli reconciliatory talks
The U.S. welcomes the recent rapprochement to reset relations to better level between Turkey and Israel, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Monday at a daily press briefing.
"We've seen reports of a potential agreement between Israel and Turkey to restore diplomatic relations. We would welcome this step in improving relations between two of our key allies in the region, and I'd refer you to officials in Israel and Turkey for more detail about it," he said.Although a meeting between Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu and Israeli Foreign Ministry Director Dore Gold was held in Rome in June and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said at the time that talks with Israel are nothing new, diplomatic relations have been cut since in 2010 after Israeli forces raided a Turkish ship bringing humanitarian supplies to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip. The incident, which occurred in international waters, left eight Turkish and one Turkish-American activists dead and 30 injured.
Ankara has three conditions for restoring ties, an apology from Israel, compensation for the families of those killed in the attack and the lifting of Israel's eight-year blockade of Gaza.
The first of these conditions was fulfilled in 2013 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized for the attack to then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Yet talks for the two other conditions are ongoing behind closed doors. Turkish diplomatic sources confirmed last Thursday that Turkey and Israel were holding talks aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations more than five years after they were severed.
Turkish officials, including ministers and spokesmen have also confirmed the talks. Speaking after Monday's Cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said bilateral negotiations between the two countries continue but Ankara's remaining conditions are still waiting to be fulfilled.
"In 2013, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized. The first condition was fulfilled. Talks between Turkey and Israel are underway to fulfill the second and third conditions," Kurtulmuş said. "Currently, negotiations are not finalized politically, but I would like to say negotiations are going in a positive direction," he added.
"We've seen reports of a potential agreement between Israel and Turkey to restore diplomatic relations. We would welcome this step in improving relations between two of our key allies in the region, and I'd refer you to officials in Israel and Turkey for more detail about it," he said.Although a meeting between Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu and Israeli Foreign Ministry Director Dore Gold was held in Rome in June and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said at the time that talks with Israel are nothing new, diplomatic relations have been cut since in 2010 after Israeli forces raided a Turkish ship bringing humanitarian supplies to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip. The incident, which occurred in international waters, left eight Turkish and one Turkish-American activists dead and 30 injured.
Ankara has three conditions for restoring ties, an apology from Israel, compensation for the families of those killed in the attack and the lifting of Israel's eight-year blockade of Gaza.
The first of these conditions was fulfilled in 2013 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized for the attack to then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Yet talks for the two other conditions are ongoing behind closed doors. Turkish diplomatic sources confirmed last Thursday that Turkey and Israel were holding talks aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations more than five years after they were severed.
Turkish officials, including ministers and spokesmen have also confirmed the talks. Speaking after Monday's Cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said bilateral negotiations between the two countries continue but Ankara's remaining conditions are still waiting to be fulfilled.
"In 2013, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized. The first condition was fulfilled. Talks between Turkey and Israel are underway to fulfill the second and third conditions," Kurtulmuş said. "Currently, negotiations are not finalized politically, but I would like to say negotiations are going in a positive direction," he added.
Last Update: December 23, 2015 01:17