Netanyahu: Israel wants to improve relations with Turkey

Sep 7, 2011, 19:13 GMT

Tel Aviv - Israel wants to improve relations with Turkey, Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday as he addressed a diplomatic spat between the two countries over Israel's raid on a flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip.

'In the past few days we have seen a deepening of the tensions in our relations with Turkey. This was not our choice,' a government statement quoted Netanyahu as saying at a naval officer graduation ceremony.

'We respect the Turkish people and their legacy, and we want relations to improve,' the premier said.

Israeli-Turkey ties hit a low in May last year, when Israeli naval commandos killed nine Turkish activists while taking over a flotilla bound for the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.

Relations plunged even lower last week, when Turkey's demands for an Israeli apology over the flotilla deaths went unanswered and a UN report into the incident found that the Israelis had used 'excessive' force but had acted 'legally.'

On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara would expel the Israeli ambassador, and on Tuesday Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the suspension of military deals with Israel.

Israel's military agreements with Turkey, principally upgrading tanks and aircraft, as well as the sale of unmanned pilotless vehicles, is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

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