Member of Knesset Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid) met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization`s annual Parliamentary Assembly in Istanbul, according to the Knesset website. Levy and Erdogan shook hands after the Turkish leader delivered a speech, and the MK thanked him for appointing an ambassador to Israel. Levy also said he would be happy if Erdogan would visit Israel.
On Sunday Levy and MK Omer Barlev (Zionist Union), who are representing the Knesset at the assembly, met Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after he addressed the assembly. Cavusoglu shook the MKs` hands and said Israel and Turkey should look to the future and strengthen the cooperation between them. The two MKs also met with members Turkey`s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and discussed possibilities for cooperation between the parliaments, including the establishment of joint parliamentary friendship groups. It was the first meeting between Israeli and Turkish lawmakers in a long time due to tensions over Israel's security blockade on Gaza.