Turkey Invites Israel to Patch Things Up

[Solid Beast]

Israel Defense Minister Invited To Turkey

JERUSALEM - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Dec. 17 he had been invited for talks in Turkey, a long-time ally with whom relations have been frosty over the past year.

"Today I met the Turkish ambassador to Turkey, who delivered to me an invitation to travel to Turkey," Barak, who is also head of the center-left opposition Labor party, said at a political meeting in Tel Aviv.

"The question of relations (with Ankara) is of utmost importance given the ups and downs our relations have had this year," Barak said.

He also raised the prospect of a meeting between Israeli President Shimon Peres and his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, on the sidelines of the world climate conference in Copenhagen.

Barak said he hoped such a meeting might succeed in "putting bilateral relations back on track," underscoring the "strategic, economic and historic role" Turkey played in the Middle East.

In late November, Turkey and Israel pledged commitment to improve ties as an Israeli minister held talks in Ankara, the first since the Jewish state's war in the Gaza Strip poisoned ties between the two regional allies.