Voice of America
17 Aug 2022, 19:36 GMT+10
Turkey and Israel said on Wednesday they will re-appoint respective ambassadors more than four years after they were called back, marking another milestone after months of steady improvement in relations.
The two regional powers had expelled ambassadors in 2018 over the killing of 60 Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests on the Gaza border against the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
But they have been working to mend long-strained ties with energy emerging as a key area for potential cooperation.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's office said on Wednesday the two countries decided to restore full diplomatic ties.
'It was decided to once again upgrade the level of the relations between the two countries to that of full diplomatic ties and to return ambassadors and consuls general,' Lapid's office said in a statement following a conversation between the prime minister and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
'Upgrading relations will contribute to deepening ties between the two peoples, expanding economic, trade, and cultural ties, and strengthening regional stability,' it added.
Avisit to Turkey by Israeli President Isaac Herzog in March, followed by visits by both foreign ministers, helped warm relations after more than a decade of tensions.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the appointment of ambassadors was one of the steps in the normalization of ties.
'Such a positive step came from Israel as a result of these efforts, and as Turkey, we also decided to appoint an ambassador to Israel, to Tel Aviv,' Cavusoglu said at a news conference in Ankara, adding Turkey was selecting someone.
The move, which comes as Israel has sought to improve ties with regional powers, was agreed two years after the so-called Abraham Accords which saw relations normalized between Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.
Turkey also launched a charm offensive in 2020 to repair ties with estranged rivals, making overtures to Egypt, the UAE, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Efforts with Cairo have so far yielded little progress, but officials have said normalization work with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are going well.
Get a daily dose of Middle East Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Middle East Star.
More InformationLONDON, U.K.: British oil giant Shell has denied reports that it is in talks to acquire rival oil company BP. The Wall Street Journal...
LONDON, U.K.: A little-known investment fund based in the United Arab Emirates has emerged as the most prominent public backer of U.S....
New Delhi [India], July 2 (ANI): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed Kesavan Ramachandran as Executive Director of RBI with...
The inflation is driven by the price of services, which recorded a yearly inflation rate of 3.3 percent in June, up from 3.2 percent...
DUBAI, 1st July 2025 (WAM) -- Emirates will be layering on more retrofitted Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s on its existing schedules...
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 1 (ANI): TVS Motor Company has recorded its highest-ever quarterly sales in the first quarter of...
EVERGLADES, Florida: Over the weekend, a diverse coalition of environmental activists, Native American leaders, and residents gathered...
BEIJING, China: China's national soccer team may struggle to stir excitement, but its humanoid robots are drawing cheers — and not...
]LONDON, U.K.: A World Health Organization (WHO) expert group investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic released its final...
DOVER, Delaware: California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken legal aim at Fox News, accusing the network of deliberately distorting...
FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany has become the latest country to challenge Chinese AI firm DeepSeek over its data practices, as pressure...
TORONTO, Canada: Harvard University and the University of Toronto have created a backup plan to ensure Harvard graduate students continue...