Turkey, Israel approaching compensation deal

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister speaks after cabinet meeting in Ankara. AA Photo

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said a second meeting between Turkish and Israeli officials was held on May 6 in Israel’s Tel Aviv, for negotiations over compensation for a raid by Israel on a Turkish flotilla that resulted in the killing of nine Turkish citizens.

“If a result from the meeting was not obtained, a third meeting could be on the agenda,” Bülent Arınç told members of the press after a Cabinet meeting in Ankara.

After Arınç’s words, the Associated Press reported that a draft agreement on compensation for the victims had been reached by Israel and Turkey, but the Israeli side reportedly said “additional clarifications” were needed on “a few issues.”

A Turkish delegation led by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu had travel to Tel Aviv for the second round of compensation talks for the families of victims of Mavi Marmara raid by Israel in 2010.

Turkish and Israeli delegations held their first meeting in Ankara to discuss the compensation, discussions that were described at the time by Arınç as “positive.”

Rather than attempting to set an exact amount for the compensation, the Turkish side referred to international law when presenting the criteria to be used for the amount of compensation to be requested. 

Turkish officials have so far steadfastly refrained from citing any amount for the compensation, on the grounds that such action would be hurtful to the families of the victims.