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Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in Ankara for a historic two-day visit and talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
This is the first official visit to Turkey by an Israeli leader since 2008, as the two countries try to mend their rocky relationship. The last visit by an Israeli president to Turkey took place in 2007.
Erdogan and a military honor guard greeted Herzog as a band played the Israeli anthem for the first time in 14 years.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The Israeli leader, who spoke Hebrew, opened his statement thanking Erdogan in Turkish and praised his efforts to help end the war in Ukraine, with a foreign ministers’ summit scheduled for Thursday. “The prime minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett, and the government of Israel are doing their utmost on this matter, and I also greatly appreciate and respect your efforts, Mr. President, which have led to the important summit that will be held in your country tomorrow, and I pray for positive results.”
Herzog also emphasized the importance of the visit amid the current Russia-Ukraine war. “Only in recent weeks, and we discussed this, we have seen once more how bad wars are. The war in Ukraine is a humanitarian disaster, shocking the whole world. We cannot remain indifferent to such human suffering, and I welcome any endeavor that will lead to the end of the bloodshed.”
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The Turkish president thanked his counterpart and said, “This historic visit will be a turning point in relations between Turkey and Israel. Strengthening relations with the state of Israel has great value for our country.”
Before he met with Erdogan, Herzog, accompanied by his wife, Michal, laid a wreath at the tomb of the founding father of the republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In the mausoleum’s guest book, he wrote that he hoped for a “safer and more stable world” and region.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan with Israeli President Isaac Herzog
Turkey and Israel were once close allies, but the relationship took a turn for the worse under Erdogan, an outspoken critic of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. Israel, for its part, has been aggravated by Erdogan’s embrace of Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. Israel considers Hamas a terrorist group.
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Hamas released a statement condemning the visit. “We express our regret over such visits to the Arab and Islamic countries which we consider a strategic depth for our Palestinian people and their just national cause.”
On Thursday, President Herzog is set to meet with Turkey’s Jewish community in Istanbul.
