Israeli apology to Turkey 'enormous mistake'

Jerusalem - Anadolu Agency

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Feb. 6 described his country's apology to Turkey as an "enormous mistake," in reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to express "regret" in 2013 for a deadly incident in 2010 in which ten Turks were killed by Israeli commandos.

Lieberman's statements followed Turkey's decision to pull out of an upcoming security conference in Munich, attributing its decision to the scheduled participation of an Israeli delegation.

Ankara's decision, Israeli news website Ynet quoted Lieberman as saying, "proves once again how enormous a mistake it was to apologize to Turkey."

"As long as the current [Turkish] leadership, headed by [President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan and his associates, controls Turkey, there is no chance to rehabilitate relations between the two countries," Lieberman was quoted as saying.

"Turkey under Erdoğan is interested only in attacking and bashing Israel; and we must deal with it accordingly and stand up for Israeli interests," he added.

Earlier Feb. 6, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoglu announced that his country would not be taking part in the Munich security conference due to the participation of an Israeli delegation.

In 2010, the Israeli navy raided the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla, killing ten Turkish activists, including one U.S.-Turkish dual national.