ANKARA – Turkey’s foreign minister has said Turkey wants to repair relations with Israel but insisted the Jewish state must first apologise and offer compensation for its raid on the Gaza-bound ship Mavi Marmara, in which nine Turkish citizens died.
“Turkey has the will to make peace with Israel,” Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters on Saturday, reiterating Ankara’s conditions for the re-establishment of full diplomatic ties.
“Turkey has the will to make peace with everybody,” Mr Davutoglu said. “Why should Israel remain excluded? It is a country with which we had very good relations until 2008.”
Israeli soldiers stormed the Mavi Marmara on May 31st, killing nine Turkish activists. The ship was part of a convoy bringing supplies to blockaded Gaza.
Muslim Turkey until recently enjoyed close military and commercial ties with Israel. But relations between the two US allies have been tense since an Israeli offensive in Gaza in late 2008.
The Marmara ship incident further soured relations, with Turkey demanding that Israel formally apologise for the deaths of the nine pro-Palestinian activists.
Envoys of the two countries met in Geneva earlier this month for talks.
Israeli officials have said Israel wants to reach a compromise with Turkey. However, Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdoganhas signalled no flexibility in Turkey’s demands for an apology and compensation.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces opposition to such a deal from his hawkish foreign minister and government coalition partner, Avigdor Lieberman.
Mr Davutoglu said on Saturday that for progress to occur Israel had to show political will. “The fact that we have the will to make peace does not mean that others also have that will. Then this creates difficulty. It is very difficult to establish political will in Israel.”
The Mavi Marmara sailed into Istanbul’s Sarayburnu port yesterday, following repairs, and was greeted by thousands of pro-Palestinian activists carrying Turkish and Palestinian flags.
The activists, mostly members of pro-Islamic groups, chanted “down with Israel” and “Allah is great” as they greeted the vessel.
The ship was part of an international flotilla carrying supplies to Gaza in a campaign to breach the blockade on Gaza when Israeli troops intercepted the convoy. Eight Turks and an American-Turkish teenager were killed.
Israel insists commandos opened fire in self-defence after meeting what they called unexpected resistance when they boarded the ship.
Mr Lieberman yesterday dismissed the Turkish approach as chutzpah, saying it was up to Ankara to make amends.
I think the matter of an apology borders on chutzpah or beyond, the foreign minister said. If anything, we are waiting for an apology from the Turkish government, and not the other way around.
Mr Netanyahu quickly disavowed the remarks, saying Mr Lieberman was speaking only for himself. – (Reuters, AP)