ANKARA (AA) - Israel attaches great importance to scheduled visit of Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul to the region next week.
Israeli sources described Turkey as ''a close neighbor and important friend,'' emphasizing that the visit was important both for bilateral relations and for the region.
Defining Gul's visit as ''brief but intense'', the sources said Gul is expected to meet Israeli President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and two deputy prime ministers. The sources said Gul is also expected to visit Genocide Museum in Jerusalem.
The sources said Gul's visit to the region paves the way for a possible visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the future.
Sources said Erdogan's statements against Israel were left in the past, stressing that no Turkish officials made statements against Israel in the past 6-7 months. The sources added that relations between Turkey and Israel were normalized defending that there was a positive atmosphere at the current stage.
Noting that dimensions of relations between Turkey and Israel could not be compared with the number of reciprocal visits, the sources expressed pleasure over the developing relations between the two countries particularly in economy.
Sources said Israel was not feeling uneasy over Turkey's relations with Syria and Iran, noting that Turkey's messages calling for moderation were very important for the region.
Israeli sources said the more Turkey approaches to EU membership, a more say it gains in regional issues, stating that Israel thought Turkey's getting closer to the EU membership was a positive development.
(AY-MS)
2004-12-28