Turkey’s Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek declined an invitation from his Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin due to the strain in bilateral relations between the two countries, Hurriyet Daily News reports on Wednesday.
Rivlin sent a letter to Çiçek on November 29, 2011, inviting him to Israel. Rivlin stressed the importance of the visit for the sake of bilateral relations.
Çiçek replied to the letter one and a half months later, saying, “The invitation will be considered when our bilateral relations become more favorable."“I am sure you know our expectations to enable our relations to be normalized,” Çiçek said in his letter.
