Turkish Foreign Minister: “Normalization With Israel Very Close”

Jerusalem, 29 February, 2016 (TPS) -- Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated on Monday morning that the negotiations between Turkey and Israel were “close to being completed,” and that a joint statement is likely to be issued “in the coming days.” Çavuşoğlu made the statement during a cabinet meeting in the Turkish parliament.

Relations between the countries were severely damaged during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s reign, specifically after the Mavi Marmara incident in 2010 when IDF forces were attacked while taking over a Gaza-bound ship, resulting in the death of nine Turks. Efforts to amend the relations have been undergoing for years, with Turkey’s demand to lift the blockade over Gaza considered to be the main hurdle.