Turkish, Israeli presidents to meet for first time after fractious decade

Turkish, Israeli presidents to meet for first time after fractious decade

ANKARA: Turkey and Israel will seek to overcome years of animosity and insults when their presidents meet for the first time in more than a decade this week, expanding a recent Turkish charm offensive with regional rivals.
The two countries have traded accusations over Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and Ankara’s support for the militant Islamist group Hamas which governs Gaza. Diplomatic ties hit a low in 2018 when they expelled ambassadors.
Turkey’s efforts to repair its frayed relations in the Middle East led President Tayyip Erdogan to announce in January that he had invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog for Wednesday’s talks, which both sides say will explore ways to deepen cooperation.
Erdogan has said the visit will herald a “new era” and that the two countries could work together to carry Israeli natural gas to Europe, reviving an idea first discussed more than 20 years ago.
The head of the Israeli firm pumping gas from a giant field in the east Mediterranean said his company could supply Turkey if it provided infrastructure, though he did not comment on Erdogan’s more ambitious idea to link it to Europe.
“Our position has always been clear. If you want gas, great. We are ready to give. You build the pipeline to us and we will supply gas,” Yossi Abu, chief executive of NewMed Energy, told an investors conference two weeks ago.
Gas supplies from the Mediterranean could ease European dependence on Russian gas. Plans for a subsea pipeline from the east Mediterranean to Europe, excluding Turkey, have stalled after the United States expressed misgivings in January.
—Agencies

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