Jerusalem (agencies)
Yesterday, during the first visit of a high-ranking Turkish official in 15 years to Israel, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that the improvement of diplomatic relations between Ankara and the Hebrew state would benefit the Palestinians and would help them.
The Turkish minister met in Jerusalem with his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, in a move aimed at settling relations.
Yesterday, Cavusoglu met with Palestinian officials in Ramallah. The two ministers affirmed that the economic relations between the two countries continued to grow and develop despite years of tension, and added that their countries hoped to expand the scope of economic relations. Lapid said, “We will not deceive ourselves, and say that our relationship has not witnessed fluctuations.”
“But even when the political relations were tense, the economic cooperation between our two countries was constantly growing,” he added.
According to Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey was one of the top ten trading partners of the Jewish state, and one of the tourist destinations for Israelis.
The Turkish minister expressed his hope that cooperation between the two countries would benefit the Palestinians.
“We believe that our relations will positively affect the peaceful resolution of the conflict,” he said.
He believed that the meeting between Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan had helped “maintain calm” during a period of violent and widespread clashes in Jerusalem last month.
Cavusoglu noted that “Turkey is ready to take upon itself the pursuit of continuing efforts towards dialogue” Israeli-Palestinian.
During their meeting in Ankara in March, the Turkish and Israeli presidents welcomed the “transformation” of relations between the two countries. Analysts believe that this rapprochement is due to Turkey’s desire to boost the economy, especially with regard to joint gas projects.
Yesterday, the foreign ministers of the two countries agreed to officially start allowing Israeli airlines to land in Turkey.
Yesterday, Cavusoglu visited the Holocaust memorial before heading to Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.