Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that he will visit Israel on May 24 amid increasing efforts between the two countries to mend ties, Reuters reported.
Speaking to CNN Turk, Cavusoglu said he will travel to Israel and the Palestinian Authority with Energy Minister Fatih Donmez and would discuss the appointment of ambassadors with his Israeli counterpart during the visit.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has in recent months been making efforts to improve the strained relations between his country and Israel. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke on the phone with Cavusoglu in January, the first public telephone conversation between an Israeli foreign minister and a Turkish foreign minister in 13 years.
Turkey and Israel signed a comprehensive reconciliation deal in 2016, ending a six-year diplomatic standoff following a violent encounter between Israeli soldiers and Islamist radicals on a ship attempting to break through the security blockade on Gaza.
Even after the deal was signed, however, Erdogan continued to verbally attack Israel. Several months ago, however, President Isaac Herzog and Erdogan held a lengthy conversation shortly after Herzog took office.
Herzog recently visited Turkey, where he was received with an honor guard by Erdogan. Herzog thus became the first Israeli leader to visit Turkey since 2008.
Earlier on Wednesday, Erdogan commented on the most recent wave of violence and the riots on the Temple Mount and said that Israel cannot be sidelined when approaching the issue.
Erdogan said that his country will maintain its ties with Israel despite "what is going on with the Al Aqsa Mosque," adding that Turkey's strong ties with Israel are "key to protecting the rights of Palestinians."
The Turkish President also referred to Israel as a "key regional player and one which cannot be ignored or sidelined."