TURKEY, ISRAEL IN SECRET TALKS FOR SWIFT END TO DIPLOMATIC CRISIS – REPORT

Hurriyet
March 4 2009
Turkey

Israel and Turkey have been involved in quiet but intensive talks to
end the "crisis" between the two countries, Haaretz daily reported
on Thursday.

Officials from both countries have exchanged messages regarding "the
need to restore relations to an even keel and hope to do so in the
coming days," a senior Jerusalem source told the daily.

Ankara’s harsh criticism against Israel’s military operations and
the angry exchange of words between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
and Israeli President Shimon Peres have strained ties between the
two traditional and historic regional allies.

In the latest incident, Ground Forces Commander Avi Mizrahi said in
February that Erdogan "should first look in the mirror", and accused
Turkey of "committing a massacre of Armenians, as well as suppression
of the Kurds".

The senior government official told Haaretz that the positive
messages have intensified after Israel wrote to the Turkish prime
minister’s office and the Turkish military telling that Mizrahi had
been reprimanded for criticizing Erdogan during a lecture.

The exchanged messages followed a letter sent by Turkish President
Abdullah Gul to his Israeli counterpart Peres a few weeks ago, in
which he expressed the desire to visit Israel in the coming months.

Gul, who postponed a planned regional visit in January that included
Israel because of an ear complaint, is expected to be in the Jewish
state during the second half of the year.