Herzog and his wife Michal started their visit by laying a wreath on the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding father of modern Turkey, at the Anıtkabir mausoleum in Ankara.
They also toured the Anıtkabir Atatürk Museum which was inaugurated in 1953 as the final resting place of the first president of the Republic of Turkey.
Later, President Herzog visited he Presidential Complex in Ankara and be received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a state welcome ceremony in which the Israeli and Turkish national anthems were layed and a 21-gun salute performed.
‘’We will not agree on everything, and the relationship between Israel and Turkey has certainly known ups and downs and not-so-simple moments in recent years, but we shall try to restart our relations and build them in a measured and cautious manner, and with mutual respect between our states,’’ the Israeli president said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog started Wednesday a two-day state visit to Turkey at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. A visit which is seen as a ‘’new start’’ in the relations between the two countries after years of tension.
President Herzog will be the first Israeli leader to visit Turkey since 2008. The last visit by an Israeli president, the late Shimon Peres, to Turkey took place in 2007.
Before departing to Ankara, Herzog said: ‘’Together with my wife Michal, I am embarking on a state visit to Turkey at the invitation of President Erdoğan, with whom I have been in dialogue since I entered the Presidency.Israel-Turkey relations are important for Israel, important for Turkey, and important for the whole region.‘’
He added, ‘’certainly at a time when the international order is being shaken, it is good and proper that stability and partnership be maintained in our region, and I emphasized this point during my visits to Greece and Cyprus in recent weeks and in my conversations with leaders.’’
‘’We will not agree on everything, and the relationship between Israel and Turkey has certainly known ups and downs and not-so-simple moments in recent years, but we shall try to restart our relations and build them in a measured and cautious manner, and with mutual respect between our states,’’ the Israeli president said.
He stressed that his visit is completely coordinated with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
Herzog and his wife Michal started their visit by laying a wreath on the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding father of modern Turkey, at the Anıtkabir mausoleum in Ankara.
They also toured the Anıtkabir Atatürk Museum which was inaugurated in 1953 as the final resting place of the first president of the Republic of Turkey.
Later, President Herzog visited he Presidential Complex in Ankara and be received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a state welcome ceremony in which the Israeli and Turkish national anthems were layed and a 21-gun salute performed.
The President was then to hold a tête-à-tête meeting with President Erdogan, after which they will hold a bilateral meeting with the participation of both delegations.
After the meetings, both presidents will deliver statements to the press.
On Thursday, President Herzog will meet representatives of Turkey’s Jewish community at the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul.
Dialogue between the two leaders began after President Erdogan called Herzog to congratulate him on his election. That call led to a resumption of communication between Israel and Turkey after a disconnect lasting several years, according to the president’s office.
Relations were frozen after the deaths of 10 Turkish activists in an Israeli operation on a Turkish flotilla aimed at the Gaza Strip in 2010.
A 2015 reconciliation agreement formally restored ties, but neither country returned an ambassador to post, with Erdogan frequently criticizing Israeli actions against the Palestinians.
Turkish newspaper Hurriyet noted that the diplomatic map of the Middle East is shifting yet again. ‘’A surprising thaw seems to be afoot between Israel and Turkey, former close partners whose relations nosedived under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.’’
‘’That Erdogan is looking for new partners—and appears willing to mend relations—is understandable. He faces a collapsing economy, rising domestic opposition to his rule, conflict with Arab neighbors and traditional Western allies, and new turmoil in the region as Russia prepares to invade Ukraine,’’ the paper writes.
Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize the new Jewish state in 1949, and the two enjoyed robust diplomatic, security, and ntelligence cooperation over many years.
However, since Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AKP (Justice and Development Party) rose to power in 2002, bilateral relations have turned into a roller-coaster ride. Now, the Turkish leader’s growing isolation in the Eastern Mediterranean and economic woes at home are forcing him to reach out to his sworn enemy.
Israel is treading carefully, given Erdogan’s frequent antisemitic and anti-Israeli outbursts (he compared Israel to the Nazis and calle dit a ‘’terrorist state.’’).
Another main concern for Israel is Erdogan’s support for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Turkish citizenship and passports were granted to senior Hamas operatives, including one who oversaw a plot to assassinate the then mayor of Jerusalem, as well as other Israeli public figures
Erdogan has hosted two senior Hamas leaders, Saleh al-Arouri and Ismail Haniyeh, both of whom are on Washington’s list of global terrorists. So among the Israeli demands will likely bet hat the normalization process between the two countries must include limiting Hamas activity in Turkey.
In recent visits to Cyprus and Greece, President Herzog has reassured the leaders of the two countries that normalization of relations with Turkey will not change Jerusalem’s very good ties with Athens and Nicosia.