Official: Turkey, Israel Hold Secret Talks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Turkey's foreign minister and an Israeli cabinet minister met secretly in Brussels to discuss ways of overcoming the deep crisis in bilateral ties, a Turkish official said Thursday.
The meeting between Ahmet Davutoglu and Israeli Trade Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer "took place yesterday in Brussels upon a request by Israel," said the official, who asked not to be named.
"We had already conveyed a note to Israel explaining our expectations from them ... Those expectations were repeated at the meeting."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was the first meeting on a ministerial level between the two countries since Israeli commandos raided a Turkish ship leading an aid flotilla to the Gaza Strip on May 31, in defiance of an Israeli blockade.
The raid, in which eight Turks and a dual U.S.-Turkish citizen were killed, shattered Turkey's already strained ties with Israel.
Ankara recalled its ambassador and canceled three planned joint military exercises with Israel.