Author: Petr Lyukimson, Israel, exclusively to VK
A new demarche by Turkey has caused a new uproar in Israel. It is about the declaration of Ankara that it considers holding a meeting of foreign ministers of the Mediterranean countries with a representative of Israel undesirable.
According to employees of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, it is one of the major strategic forums of the Middle East established in 2004. However, since 2008, given the deterioration of Israeli-Turkish relations, such meetings were not conducted. After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized, NATO decided that the atmosphere in the region became warmer and it was time to resume the forum of foreign ministers of the Mediterranean countries with mandatory participation of Israel as a regional superpower. Turkey's refusal to sit at the same table with the Jewish state (today in Israel there is no formal foreign minister, his duties are formally carried out by Prime Minister Netanyahu, and actually are designated by "the curator for the Foreign Ministry," Minister Yuval Steinitz) was received with bewilderment both in NATO and, of course, in Israel, especially given the fact that Turkey has recently postponed negotiations in order to normalize relations planned earlier.
At the same time, the Turkish government was quick to declare that it is not a reluctance to see Israel as a member of this forum, but "for thisi,e just has not come yet”. The current leadership of Egypt and Tunisia shares similar views on the matter, according to the statement of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile in Israel criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu is growing. According to leading political commentators of the country, Netanyahu made an unforgivable mistake by carrying out the "request" of Barack Obama – the apology to Turkey, but not clarifying the issue of reciprocal steps by the Turkish leadership and a clear timetable for the normalization of relations. All of this, analysts say, today allows Turkey to continue to dictate terms to Israel.
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Meanwhile it became known why, going to the conflict with Israel, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not announced an embargo on trade with Israel. As it turned out, one of the Turkish businessmen actively conducting this trade is the son of Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Burak Erdogan, - the co-owner of commercial shipping company MV whose vessels regularly move between different ports of Turkey and the Israeli port city of Ashdod.
