The head of Israeli diplomacy, Yaïr Lapid, will visit Turkey this week, his services indicated on Sunday June 19 after a telephone exchange between the presidents of the two countries, against a backdrop of alleged Iranian threats against citizens of the Jewish state in Istanbul.
To discover
LIVE – Legislative elections 2022: what abstention rate for the second round?
Read alsoTurkey: sixteen journalists imprisoned for “belonging to a terrorist organization”
Yair Lapid will travel to Turkey on Thursday to meet his counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement.
Last week, he called on Israeli nationals not to go to Turkey, and in particular to the Istanbul metropolis, and to leave the country “
as soon as possible
” for those there, for fear of Iranian attacks.
In this context, Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke by telephone on Sunday with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Israeli presidency said in a statement.
"
President Herzog thanked President Erdogan for his efforts to neutralize terrorist activities on his soil (…) The threat has not yet disappeared and counterterrorism efforts must continue
,” the Israeli statement said.
Read alsoIsrael calls on its nationals to leave Turkey for fear of attacks from Iran
In recent weeks, the Israeli press has reported on attempted attacks against Israelis in Turkey, citing sources who requested anonymity.
These attacks would have been thwarted thanks to a collaboration between Israeli and Turkish security services, the two countries having strengthened their relations in recent months.
This security cooperation "
strengthens the trust established between the two governments and nations
“, further argued the Israeli presidency.
Israel and Turkey recently hailed a turning point in their relations following President Isaac Herzog's March visit to Turkey, the first by an Israeli head of state since 2007 to the country.
And the head of Turkish diplomacy Mevlut Cavusoglu had made a rare visit to Jerusalem at the end of May as part of this diplomatic thaw.
