ANKARA
Turkey and Israel are two countries “with an ancient afterlife and a promising future,” Israel’s defense minister said, adding that his country considers Turkey “a vital global player. “
Speaking to reporters ahead of his departure from Ankara on Thursday night, Gantz expressed his satisfaction to Turkey and thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar for the “warm welcome” they received.
Turkey and Israel “handle a lot of security issues,” he said.
“The recovery of defense ties between our countries has contributed to the security and stability of the Middle East, adding to the trends we are already seeing as a result of the Abraham Accords,” Gantz said, referring to normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries. states since fall 2020.
Stating that Israel and Turkey have a “common interest in maintaining stability and security, and ensuring prosperity in the region,” Gantz argued that this “also demands a joint effort to combat terrorism. “
“In this regard, I would like to thank President Erdogan, Minister Akar and the relevant security agencies for their important cooperation in combating terrorist threats to Israeli citizens in the local Jewish community,” he added, referring to an incident that occurred in June when the 10th Iranian suspects planning attacks on Israeli tourists in Istanbul were arrested through police and intelligence teams. Turks.
Stressing that cooperation between Turkey and Israel “is for either country,” Gantz said he told his team to “initiate the mandatory procedure to repair ongoing relations. “
“We will advance our relations on a normal basis and maintain an open dialogue. Israel regards the Republic of Turkey as a vital global player, with a wonderful perspective to expand our ties in the economic fields and now also in the field of defense, and to make any and all efforts to ensure and promote the stability of the region,” he said.
Palestine, Syria
Asked through Anadolu Agency about the demanding situations of bilateral relations, Gantz said the two countries still have “different approaches” on some issues.
“Unfortunately, over the past decade, our relations were still officially active but not too flourishing, basically in opposition to the background of differences over the Palestinian issue,” he said, adding that his country was concerned about its security needs.
“But also with the (Palestinian problem), we perceive the need and that the Palestinians would like to obtain, in fact, on the economic and humanitarian issue,” he added.
Stating that Turkey and Israel will find tactics to triumph over those differences while “repromoting” bilateral relations, Gantz also said it is central to the gains that have positioned themselves in the Middle East over the past decade.
Regarding the Syrian civil war that has been going on for more than a decade, he said the challenge would likely be in “the same geographical location, but it’s not the same geopolitical location. “
Regarding his country’s difficulties with Iran, he said Tehran is rushing to “destabilize” the region.
Israeli officials comment in chorus on the attacks on Syrian territory.
Israel has sporadically carried out attacks on Iranian-backed equipment in Syria and Syrian army troubles since 2011, when the civil war began after the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.
Gantz also described his to Turkey as the first “state-level security assembly that opens the door and shows instructions for possible cooperation in the future. “
Adding that they did not talk about rapid defense projects, Gantz said joint defense industry projects can only be mentioned in long-term talks.
In the run-up to Israel’s elections, Gantz expressed hope that those will be Israel’s elections for some time and that they will lead to the formation of a strong government.
“From my point of view, whatever government occurs in Israel, their demanding bilateral situations and interests will be the same,” he said.
Greece, fighter jets
Asked about the cancellation of a recently planned stopover in Greece, Gantz said it was due to “technical and safety issues. “
While welcoming ties with Athens, he also expressed hope that Turkey and Greece would continue the discussion towards stability.
He also said Israel had not yet sold its Iron Dome air defense formula to the Greek Cypriot administration.
“I don’t move on to the main points of other commercial projects with other locations. But we are moving on to see in the future,” he added.
Gantz also said that the factor of the US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye was not discussed in his visit, as it is a bilateral factor between Ankara and Washington.
His reaction came after a reporter asked him about reports from Israeli officials pressuring Washington on Türkiye of the F-35 program as part of Israel’s efforts to maintain the qualitative merit of its military in the region.
Türkiye protested its suspension in 2019, saying its acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defense did not jeopardize fighter jet systems, contrary to U. S. claims. It proposed a commission to examine and explain the problem. latest edition of the U. S. F-16 fighter U. S. jets, as well as modernization kits for its older F-16s.