The leaders of Israel and Turkey have held face-to-face talks for the first time since 2008, as ties between the two countries continue to warm.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a meeting on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, according to a statement from Lapid’s office.
Israel-Turkey relations, long frosty amid feuding over the Palestinian cause, have warmed in recent months, with energy emerging as a potential key area of cooperation.
The two countries officially restored full diplomatic relations in August, including an exchange of ambassadors.
As well as discussing energy, Lapid thanked Erdogan for the countries’ intelligence sharing and noted Israel’s demand for the return of four of its citizens – two of them soldiers – missing in the blockaded Gaza Strip since a 2014 war, Lapid’s office said on Tuesday.
NATO-member Turkey has been hosting members of Hamas, a Palestinian movement that administers the Gaza Strip. That relationship has often been a sticking point in bids to rebuild ties between Israel and Turkey.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
