Netanyahu Apologizes to Erdogan - Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu and Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone on Friday.(INN).Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday apologized to his Turkish counterpart for the deaths of nine Turks in a 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, a senior US official said.
"On behalf of Israelis, he apologized for any deaths those operational mistakes might have caused," the official said aboard Air Force One, indicating the exchange had taken place in a phone call.
Turkish "Prime Minister (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan accepted the apology on behalf of Turkey."
The U.S. president released an official statement on Friday afternoon stating that he welcomes the phone call, which was made shortly before he departed Israel for Jordan after a two-day visit.
“The United States deeply values our close partnerships with both Turkey and Israel, and we attach great importance to the restoration of positive relations between them in order to advance regional peace and security,” Obama said in the statement released by the White House just before he ended a visit to Israel.
"I am hopeful that today's exchange between the two leaders will enable them to engage in deeper cooperation on this and a range of other challenges and opportunities."
The ties between Israel and Turkey deteriorated due to the May 2010 Israeli Navy raid on the on the Mavi Marmara vessel, which was on its way from Turkey to the Gaza Strip. The ship was part of a flotilla that had the intent of breaking through a blockade Israel had placed on the coastal territory. Nine Turkish activists were killed in the incident.....The statement concluded by saying that "The two leaders agreed to continue to work on improving the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories."
Hmmmm........If there were any doubts , they're gone now.Read the full story here.
Related: Turkey tries Israeli officers, seeks 18,000-year sentences for Mavi Marmara deaths
No comments:
Post a Comment