Gas pipeline hope heals rupture in Israel-Turkey ties.
All the painstaking efforts aimed at mending Turkish-Israeli relations are finally paying off, six years after they broke off in acrimony.
Yuval Steinitz became the first Israeli minister to visit Turkey since 2010, for talks with his Turkish counterpart, Energy Minister Berat Albayrak. The visit signalled a significant turning-point in relations as they agreed to deepen co-operation and discussed the possibility of building a natural gas pipeline from Israel to Turkey. Hours later, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the two nations would be exchanging ambassadors within 10 days. Bilateral relations went into the deep freeze in May 2010 when Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara, a ship that was part of an aid flotilla trying to breach the blockade of Gaza. Ten Turkish activists on board were killed. It has taken several rounds of secret talks and negotiations for the two countries to get to this point. « This rapprochement is based on realpolitik and on a realistic evaluation of the situation on the ground, » says Ahmet Kasim Han from Turkey’s Kadir Has University. « There is a challenging environment for all the countries in the Middle East, and no-one has the luxury to resist co-operation when there is a mutual interest, » he argues. For Ahmet Kasim Han, both countries are concerned by Iran’s role in Syria and want an end to the conflict. They also share similar views on Saudi Arabia. « The two countries’ interests overlap to a great extent. And energy deals also form a very positive and constructive opportunity for both, » he says. Israel and Turkey announced in June that they would normalise ties, and last month Israel paid $20m (
OCT