Saudi News reports that Israeli representatives have secretly arrived in Ankara to discuss gas agreement with Turkey • In the past, Israel has condemned Turkish behavior in this area

• Expansion policy in the Mediterranean, Turkish President Erdogan // Photo: IP

Israeli officials arrived in Ankara, Turkey's capital, on Thursday to round up talks with senior government officials in order to reach an outline for drilling and transferring natural gas in the Mediterranean, Saudi Arabia News reported today.

Last year, Turkey signed a drilling and natural gas transfer agreement with the Libyan government based in Tripoli, a controversial agreement that, according to Greece and Cyprus, would allow Turks to drill gas in their territories and block gas imports from Israeli territories. Israel then condemned the Turkish Lobby agreement and claimed it was a violation of international law.

The Saudi newspaper has raised concerns that a possible agreement between Israel and Turkey could hurt Israel's relations with Cyprus and damage its maritime and commercial territory, especially with regard to natural gas exploration and drilling.

The Saudi newspaper quoted Eidin Cesar, a Turkish economist and geopolitics expert, as saying that reaching an agreement that would make both sides seem unlikely at this stage because of previous agreements between Cyprus and Israel, ", Said the Turkish expert.

Earlier this year, Cyprus, Greece France, Egypt and the UAE condemned Turkey's conduct in the Mediterranean and called it a "wild expansion" policy, following a series of Turkish drilling attempts in Cyprus's maritime territory. Israel did not participate in condemnation.