Israeli President Isaac Herzog will make a two-day visit to Turkey in mid-March, and not in early February as had been planned, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced this week.
Speaking to reporters, Erdogan said Turkey and Israel wanted to improve relations.
Last month, the Turkish president said he was “ready to take steps towards Israel in all areas, including natural gas. The two countries will discuss energy cooperation during the talks between Erdogan and Herzog.
The rapprochement between the two countries has already begun for several weeks through telephone exchanges between Erdogan and Israeli leaders.
Two weeks ago, the Turkish president said he was ready to cooperate with Israel on a gas pipeline project in the eastern Mediterranean, marking Ankara’s desire to renew ties with Israel.
The new pipeline project would bring gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe.
Turkey had previously strongly opposed a similar project involving Israel and its historical rival Greece.
The two countries expelled their ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out. Ties have remained tense since with Ankara condemning Israel’s policy toward Palestinians, while Israel has called on Turkey to drop support for terrorist Palestinian group Hamas which rules Gaza.
However, Turkey has been working to repair its strained ties with regional powers as part of a charm offensive launched in 2020.