Israel & Turkey To Restore Full Diplomatic Relations

Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office said on Wednesday that Israel and Turkey have decided to restore full diplomatic ties and will return ambassadors to each other’s countries.

The announcement follows after years of strained relations between the two Mediterranean nations.

“Upgrading relations will contribute to deepening ties between the two peoples, expanding economic, trade, and cultural ties, and strengthening regional stability,” the official statement said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed the move saying, “Appointment of ambassadors was one of the steps for the normalization of ties. Such a positive step came from Israel as a result of these efforts, and as Turkey, we also decided to appoint an ambassador to Israel, to Tel Aviv.”

In a series of tweets, the Israeli PM announced the two nations’ decision to return to full diplomatic representation.

“Following the conclusions reached during my visit to Ankara with the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuolu and following my conversation with Turkish President Erdogan and in light of the positive developments in Israel-Turkey relations over the past year, the two countries decided to return to full diplomatic representation,” he tweeted.

PM Yair Lapid said, “Last night, the director general of Israel, Alon Ushpiz, spoke with the Turkish deputy ambassador, Sadat Onal, and the two concluded the matter. It was decided to re-raise the level of relations between Israel and Turkey to full diplomatic representation and to return the ambassadors and consuls general of both countries.”