Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 28 in Turkey.
Erdogan and Netanyahu are set to discuss the bilateral relations between the two countries and the ‘steps to be taken to improve cooperation’.
The two leaders will also discuss the current regional and international issues, AFP reported. This will be the first visit to Turkey by any Israeli prime minister in 15 years. The last visit was by Ehud Olmert in 2008.
In 2010, relations between Israel and Turkey soured after Israeli forces launched a deadly attack on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was trying to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territories controlled by the Islamist group Hamas.
In May 2018, Turkey recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv and expelled Israel’s ambassador to Ankara after the killing of nearly 50 Palestinians by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Israel responded by expelling the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem.
However, relations between Turkey and Israel have improved over the past year with many high-level visits, including that of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, after several years of hostility between the two nations.
