Tel Aviv/Ankara, 18 August : Israel and Turkey would like to resume their diplomatic relations, officials from both countries said in an historic step which followed a visit of the Israeli Prime Minister to Turkey. Both countries have opted to reinstate Consuls General and Ambassadors according to dpa news agency, which quoted the office of Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid as saying on Wednesday.
The move came following Lapid’s visit Ankara in June.He also held his talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.official statement stated.
“The restart of relations with Turkey is an important asset for stability in the region and is a very important economic development to the people of Israel,” Lapid was quoted as declaring in the declaration.
Israel’s position will be improved throughout the world, he added.
The resumption of diplomatic relations an extension of the positive trend in the improvement of relations over the last year, following President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Ankara and the visits of Foreign Ministers to Jerusalem and Ankara The statement noted.
Herzog was the first Israeli President to visit Turkey in May in 10 years.
“We as Turkey have also chosen to appoint an ambassador to Israel, Tel Aviv,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters Wednesday in Ankara and called the move an “positive move”.
The formal process of selecting envoys for a second term will begin in the next few days Cavusoglu said, adding that Ankara “will remain committed to stand up for rights of Palestine, Jerusalem and Gaza” via direct communication with Israel through its ambassador.
Turkey and Israel were once close allies and ally, broke up in 2010 , after 10 Turkish citizens were killed during an incident in which the Israeli navy attacked the Gaza solidarity boat.
There was a first relationship in 2016, but since the year 2018’s Gaza crises, which grew in the wake of the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem both countries haven’t had Ambassadors.
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