Ankara: We seek permanent relations with 'Israel'

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that Ankara seeks to establish permanent relations with "Israel".

The Foreign Minister made this statement in a meeting with Israeli journalists making a 3-day tour in Turkey, completely funded by the Telecom Directory affiliated with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office, according to Israeli media.

Cavusoglu said that Turkey and "Israel" both have common interests and that his country is ready to develop bilateral cooperation and regional dialogue through a positive agenda, noting that the "warmness" of bilateral relations depends on "Israel's" policy toward Palestinians.

He also said that since 1949, Israeli-Turkish relations have had their ups and downs because of "Israel's" violation of Palestinians' rights, and not just bilateral trade, adding that Ankara expects "Israel" to expect international law on the Palestinian cause in the interest of a permanent relationship.

The foreign minister noted that his country wishes to advance cooperation with "Israel" in the fields of energy, trade, investment, science, technology, agriculture, and food security, asserting that there is a new momentum in the two countries' bilateral relations, and hoped to see more Israeli tourists in Turkey this year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier condemned some of the latest operations in occupied Palestine, which resulted in 11 Israeli settlers' deaths, in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog.

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth clarified that Erdogan called the operations "terrorist", and presented his condolences to Herzog, calling the Israelis "victims", and wished that the injured get well soon.