Ankara, Turkey – Israel’s new ambassador to Turkey has arrived in Ankara as the two countries seek to mend relations that soured after a deadly Israeli naval raid on a Turkish ship headed for Gaza.
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Eitan Naeh arrived Thursday morning in the Turkish capital as part of a reconciliation deal clinched in June, ending six years of animosity.
Naeh, quoted by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, noted that Turkey and Israel “have a history of helping each other in times of need.” Turkey was among the nations to offer assistance to Israel in battling a series of wildfires that raged across the country last month.
Israeli-Turkish ties declined after now-President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has roots in Turkey’s Islamist movement, became prime minister in 2003.
Relations imploded in 2010 after a confrontation between Israeli commandos and a Turkish flotilla trying to breach the blockade of Gaza.