Israeli Ambassador to Washington Michael (Mike) Herzog met last week with Turkish Ambassador to the city, Hassan Murat Marken, an associate of Turkish President Erdogan.
The meeting took place as part of the Israeli ambassador's dinner with four ambassadors of Muslim countries in Central Asia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Israel has official relations with these countries, but the purpose of the meeting was to initiate broader cooperation, both bilaterally and in a multinational framework that will coordinate on various issues.
The initiator and participant in the meeting is Malcolm Honlein, who serves as vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Jewish Organizations in the United States. Honline, who has an extensive network of contacts in the American capital, had a preliminary meeting a few weeks ago with some ambassadors. Jewish nation.
Herzog and Erdogan, Photo: Ai.
Nose.
Phi, Jonathan Shaul, GettyImages
If the initiative progresses, it is expected in the first stage to engage in strengthening soft areas, such as cultural ties between countries.
The ambassadors also discussed strengthening Jewish communities and raising awareness of Jewish history in all four Muslim countries.
Subsequently, the parties intend to promote together more significant interests in the areas of trade, energy, and even security.
The model is a bloc of countries in the eastern Mediterranean, which has been operating for about a decade between Israel, Greece and Cyprus, and sometimes even Egypt.
A source close to the details told Israel Today that the strengthening of Russia and Iran, and what was perceived as a weakening of the United States, were one of the motives of the five countries to get closer to each other.
It should be noted that the promotion of the new channel is done in isolation from the direct warming between Israel and Turkey, which is done directly between the countries, and especially at the level of the presidents of the countries.
President Yitzhak Herzog, who is the brother of Ambassador Herzog, spoke on Sunday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and wished him health and complete health after being infected in Corona.
The Turkish president thanked Herzog for the interest, and the two discussed the possibility of meeting soon.
It is estimated that Herzog's visit to Ankara will take place in early spring.
Fourth call
It was the fourth phone call between the two since Herzog took office about six months ago.
Erdogan said about a month ago that he is working to develop ties with Israel, and that President Yitzhak Herzog may visit Turkey in the near future.
Erdogan even called President Herzog and comforted him over the death of his mother.
"We are in talks with our Israeli partners, and President Herzog is likely to visit Turkey in the near future," the Turkish president was quoted as saying by the state news agency Anadolu.
"We intend to bring about positive developments and cooperation with Israel in the economic field in the Mediterranean," the Turkish president added.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us