Israeli Settlements Obstacle to Normalized Ties, Turkey Says
- Rifts would only reopen over this issue: foreign minister
- Turkey seeking to repair ties with traditional allies
Mevlut Cavusoglu didn’t say whether Turkey was planning to appoint an ambassador to Israel to repair ties as a shifting geopolitical landscape reshuffles alliances.
Photographer: Jeenah Moon/BloombergIsrael should forfeit its designs on land the Palestinians claim for a state if it wants to normalize ties with Turkey, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday, damping expectations that Ankara’s foreign-policy rethink will include mended ties with its former ally.
“If Israel gives up its activities and aggression, such as illegal settlements or annexation, our relations will normalize,” Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara. “Let’s say we established good relations today, if they continue to do the same the following day, then relations will break down again. That’s why we need to tackle these from the start.”