TURKEY, ISRAEL HOLDING SECRET TALKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.03.2009 11:17 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 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 said 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.