Israeli, Turkish diplomats meet in Geneva in effort to repair relations

[Violet_Crumble]

Israel sends diplomat to meet with Turkish officials after Netanyahu phoned Turkish PM to thank him for his help in battling Carmel fire.
By Barak Ravid

Israeli and Turkish officials met in Geneva on Sunday in an attempt to draft an agreement aiming to mend the foundering ties between the countries due to the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last May.

Joseph Ciechanover, a senior Israeli diplomat, was sent to Geneva to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to thank him for sending firefighting planes to help battle the fire in northern Israel that killed 41 people.

The Israeli and Turkish diplomats speculated that in an agreement, Israel would apologize to Turkey for the events of the Gaza flotilla and compensate it accordingly, and in exchange Turkey would return its ambassador to Tel-Aviv and agree to appoint a new Israeli envoy in Ankara.

A senior Turkish diplomat told Haaretz that the purpose of the meeting in Geneva was to discuss an agreement that would put an end to the crisis between the two countries.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-turkish-diplomats-meet-in-geneva-in-effort-to-repair-relations-1.329055

[azurnoir]

1. well this could be positive and it may have a chance

as in reading the article it seems Lieberman has been sidelined for this one

[oberliner]

2. Turkish PM 'hates' Israel: US cables

ANKARA — Turkey's Islamist-rooted prime minister "simply hates Israel" on religious grounds, US cables released by WikiLeaks say, reflecting growing US misgivings over Ankara's foreign policy.

The scathing assessment comes in a memo on a conversation with Israeli ambassador to Turkey, Gabby Levy, about Recep Tayyip Erdogan's frequent outbursts against Israel following the Jewish state's devastating war on the Gaza Strip last year.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gpsRRjnBhIT8mf7my2aRJ6dRZslw?docId=CNG.53075ad2350ca0616102f4e994a06283.281

[azurnoir]

3. Israel-Turkey diplomatic crisis nears its end

Israel and Turkey are close to agreeing on a document that will let them put an end to the crisis in their relations. The results of two rounds of talks between the two sides in Geneva have been "very positive" and discussions will continue, Turkish diplomatic sources say.

Israel's representative on the UN panel investigating the Gaza-bound flotilla incident, Yosef Ciechanover, met for the second time on Monday with senior Turkish diplomat Feridun Sinirlioglu. The discussions centered around a formula that would have Israel apologize for the incident and arrange for compensation for the dead and injured Turkish citizens.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-turkey-diplomatic-crisis-nears-its-end-1.329232


hopefully this works out