An unprecedented bilateral meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planned for July, in a bid to bolster the historically tense relations between their nations, Bloomberg reported on Friday, attributing the information to reliable sources.
The meeting, which is dependent on the alignment of both leaders’ schedules, is set to take place in Ankara.
Potential talking points at the upcoming discussion may include the issues of gas development and delivery, reflecting the evolving geopolitical interests of both nations.
The leaders’ commitment to repairing their countries’ relationship was demonstrated in late May when Netanyahu extended his congratulations to Erdoğan on his presidential election victory. In a subsequent telephone conversation, both leaders committed to elevating their nations’ ties to a new, mutually beneficial level.
In recent times, Turkey and Israel have demonstrated a renewed commitment towards reviving their strained relations.
Relations were frozen in 2010 after a deadly Israeli raid on the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship, part of a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid that was trying to breach a blockade on the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
Bilateral relations began to fray following an Israeli military operation in Gaza in 2008 and deteriorated sharply after the 2010 maritime incident that claimed the lives of 10 civilians.
A brief reconciliation from 2016 ended two years later when Turkey withdrew its ambassador and expelled Israel’s over the killing of Palestinians in Gaza.
Following months of talks including a visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Turkey last March, the two countries announced in August the full restoration of relations and the return of ambassadors.