Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Israel's Likud party, who will soon form a new government after success in latest election, and noted the importance of bilateral relations based on mutual interests, the Turkish leader's office said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2022) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Israel's Likud party, who will soon form a new government after success in latest election, and noted the importance of bilateral relations based on mutual interests, the Turkish leader's office said on Thursday.
"Highlighting the beginning of a new era in the Turkey-Israel relations thanks to the strong will displayed by both sides, President Erdogan said that it was in the shared interest of Turkey and Israel to maintain the relations by respecting sensitivities on the basis of mutual interests," the message read.
During the conversation, Netanyahu expressed his condolences over the terrorist attack in Istanbul that took place on November 13 and praised Turkey's mediating efforts between Russia and Ukraine, according to the office.
The Turkish president, in turn, expressed the hope that the results of the Israeli parliamentary elections would be "auspicious for the country and the region."
Relations between Tel Aviv and Istanbul deteriorated sharply in 2010 after the Israeli special forces captured the Mavi Marmara ship sailing out of Turkey to the Gaza Strip. In May 2018, Ankara invited the Israeli ambassador to Turkey to leave the country after protests in the Gaza Strip against the backdrop of the 70th anniversary of the formation of Israel and the anniversary of the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
However, in recent months, the two countries have begun normalization of the bilateral dialogue, with Erdogan officially appointing a Turkish ambassador to Israel on November 12 after the full restoration of diplomatic relations between the countries, announced in August.
