Turkish, Israeli leaders hail return of envoys
ANKARA
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli President Isaac Herzog hailed the two governments’ decision to return the ambassadors to each other capitals following years of strained ties.
Erdoğan and Herzog spoke on the phone on Aug. 19, two days after the two foreign ministries announced that they will exchange ambassadors and fully restore the diplomatic ties.
“The call addressed the Türkiye-Israel relations and regional issues,” said the Turkish presidency in a statement.
Erdoğan expressed his view “that the decision to mutually reappoint ambassadors has been an important step taken in order for the bilateral relations to advance in a positive direction,” according to the statement.
Noting that the reappointment of the ambassadors will add momentum to the Türkiye-Israel relations, Erdoğan said Türkiye favors the improvement of cooperation and dialogue on the basis of respect for mutual sensitivities.
Herzog, for his part, said on Twitter that they welcomed the development and expressed their hopes for future progress. “I discussed bilateral issues, and I thanked him for his critical contribution to the agreement for the export of wheat from Ukraine and for his recent meetings with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine,” Herzog said.
Türkiye and Israel had lowered their diplomatic ties to the level of chargé d’affaires following the United States’ decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018. The two countries launched the normalization effort in 2021. Herzog paid a historic visit to Ankara in March, and the two foreign ministers exchanged visits in May and June.
