Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with her Turkish counterpart, Ali Babacan, on Thursday in a meeting aimed at reconciling the two governments following months of diplomatic tension. The meeting, held on the sidelines of a NATO conference in Brussels, was not revealed to the media ahead of time.
In a statement released later in the day, Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said, "The ministers stressed the strategic importance of the firm relations between the two states, noting that cooperation between the two states is important to the stability of the Middle East. They agreed that cooperation and political consultations would continue on all levels."
Livni and Babacan also reportedly discussed "opportunities to advance peace in the region," among other "bilateral and regional issues."
The significance of the Brussels meeting, the highest-level face-to-face discussions between Israel and Turkey for several months, is its contribution to calming relations between the two governments following a series of diplomatic confrontations.
In early January of this year, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that "Allah would sooner or later punish" Israel. He later called for Israel to be barred from the United Nations.
On January 29, Erdogan stormed off a stage he shared with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos. His action was the culmination of a very vocal debate on Israel's counter-terrorism operations in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, during which Erdogan charged Israel with "barbaric" actions in Gaza. "When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill," Erdogan shouted as he walked out.
Then, in an interview with Haaretz newspaper in mid-February, IDF Ground Forces Commander Major-General Avi Mizrachi harshly criticized Erdogan for his verbal attacks on Israel. Mizrachi referred to Turkey's genocide against Armenians in the early twentieth century and its current oppression of the country's Kurdish minority, saying Erdogan should "take a look at himself" before accusing Israel of human rights violations. Responding to Erdogan's call to expel Israel from the United Nations, Mizrachi said Turkey should be expelled as well.
Mizrachi was subsequently reprimanded by IDF Chief of Staff Brig.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi. The disciplinary measure was reported to Turkish civilian and military officials at the time.