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Obama urges Erdogan to quickly normalize relations with Israel
US President Obama spoke by phone with Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and encouraged him to finalize a reconciliation agreement with Israel which has reached an advanced stage of discussions in recent weeks.
In 2010, the previously warm relationship between Israel and Turkey deteriorated and diplomatic ties were cut after the deaths of nine Turkish citizens, killed whilst trying to prevent Israeli commandos taking over a Gaza-bound protest ship, the Mavi Marmara. However, it was widely reported earlier this month that a senior Turkish delegation visited Israel and had made significant progress in agreeing a compensation deal for the families of those killed aboard the Mavi Marmara, paving the way to restoring diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister had indicated that a deal was nearing completion. However, in a surprising turn of events, Prime Minister Erdogan appeared to temper such optimism, telling a news conference last week that “The compensation talks on behalf of the victims of the Mavi Marmara, which are taking place between Ankara and Jerusalem, have not concluded … In the final stages, there will be a need to include a clause in the protocol that calls for the lifting of the siege on Gaza.”
During their phone call late Wednesday, which covered other regional issues including Syria, Obama and Erdogan “spoke about the importance of quickly concluding the normalization agreement with Israel,” according to a White House statement.
Some have interpreted Erdogan’s demand over Gaza as electioneering ahead of local elections in which his AKP Party is predicted to poll poorly. However, it is a stipulation which it is widely accepted Israel’s leaders will not agree to. Israel restricts certain goods such as building materials from entering the Gaza Strip for fear that they will be used by the governing power Hamas, to strengthen its military capability. Indeed, since the start of 2014, there has been a significant spike in rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel.