Official: Turkey, Israel Hold Secret Talks

Published November 17, 2014

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."

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.

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