Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plan to meet as early as next month as they try to improve relations between their countries, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the situation.
Turkey and Israel are collaborating more on tourism and business and are seeking to start gas shipments to Turkey after over a decade of tensions.
The disruption to supply chains and commodity markets from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is providing a fresh incentive to mend ties, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential matters.
Israel and Turkey formally announced last year that they would normalize relations by returning the ambassadors and consuls, after years of tensions.
In December, Israel's Ambassador to Turkey, Irit Lillian, presented her credentials to Erdogan. In March, the new Turkish Ambassador to Israel, Şakir Özkan Torunlar, presented his credentials to President Herzog.
Last week, Channel 12 News reported that Netanyahu's office is trying to coordinate a visit and meeting with Erdogan.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen already met with the Turkish President in February and Netanyahu spoke with him several weeks ago and congratulated him on his victory in the elections.
A diplomatic official in Israel confirmed the details, adding that the contacts are in advanced stages. At the same time, other diplomatic sources believe that Erdogan will hold the meeting only if he is convinced that Netanyahu will bring with him news on economic-related issues.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)