Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sends ultimatum to Israel

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not attend the annual conference of the OSCE on the Mediterranean next Friday in Athens, in case his Israeli counterpart Binyamin Netanyahu takes part in it, Trend reports, referring to the website of the Turkish TV channel CNN Turk.

“The Israeli government should pay for its aggressive policy,” Erdogan said.

Turkey and Israel, having once worked closely in the military and political spheres, have worsened their relations since the 31st of May, when Israeli forces attacked the “Freedom Flotilla”, on a humanitarian mission to Gaza. Following this attack, in which nine Turkish citizens were killed, the Turkish government announced a review of its relations with Israel. Ankara has demanded from Israel a formal apology for the deaths of the Turkish citizens and to pay monetary compensation to the families of the victims, but Israel has refused