Turkey-Israel: Toward A 'Cold' Normalization
The second round of compensation talks between Israel and Turkey should not raise hopes in Jerusalem of re-establishing the former ties between the two countries, writes Arad Nir.
An official Turkish delegation arrived in Jerusalem on Monday [May 6], for the first time since the Turkish flotilla to Gaza in 2010.
The delegation, headed by Turkish Foreign Ministry Director-General Feridun Sinirlioğlu, met for several hours with Israel’s national security adviser, Yaakov Amidror, who delayed his departure for an official visit to China with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to receive the group, and with former Foreign Ministry Director-General Yosef Ciechanover. This was the second round of talks between the sides. That same evening the prime minister’s office announced that final agreement on a reconciliation agreement between Israel and Turkey would soon be reached, bringing an end to the crisis between the two countries.
“Reconciliation,” as I wrote here previously, does not mean “going back to the way things were,” but Israel does not appear to have understood.
The first round was held in Ankara on April 22. Amidror and Ciechanover were given a cordial welcome when they arrived in the Turkish capital by private plane to discuss Israeli compensation to the families of those killed on the Marmara flotilla. The talks in Ankara were also conducted in good spirits and both sides stressed their intention to finalize the compensation negotiations as quickly as possible.
