The meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Turkish President Erdogan, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, was the first meeting between an Israeli prime minister and Erdogan since 2008. That year the Turkish president met with Hakim Olmert, when Erdogan brokered indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria.
The meeting in New York lasted about 70 minutes, which shows that there was more than just compliments and pleasantries. Lapid again thanked Erdogan for Turkish help in preventing Iranian plans to harm Israelis on Turkish soil, while the meeting also raised the issue of missing Israelis in the Gaza Strip.
In addition, Erdogan met with representatives of Jewish organizations in the US, as in the past, before the last crisis in Turkish-Israeli relations in 2018. In the meeting with the organizations, the rewarming of Turkish-Israeli relations was discussed, as well as the problem of antisemitism.
Among other things, Erdogan said, continuing earlier statements, that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity and announced his intention to visit Israel after the November elections.
Another step in restoring Turkey-Israel relations on the right track was the decision of the appointment committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to recommend the appointment of the interim head of the embassy in Ankara, Irit Lillian, as the ambassador of Israel to Turkey.
The professional appointment was expected, partly given that Lillian already held the position of ambassador to Bulgaria and considering her previous efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries, both during intense times and after the first positive steps between Ankara and Jerusalem.
At the same time, it is not yet clear who Turkey will appoint as ambassador to Israel, and whether whoever is finally chosen will be an indication of Turkish intentions regarding the continued improvement of relations.
Lapid’s program on the sidelines of the general assembly included a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which demonstrates the effort to balance improving Israel-Turkey relations with maintaining relations with Greece and Cyprus.
Shortly after the announcement in mid-August of the normalization of relations between Israel and Turkey, some initial talks with Cyprus regarding Israel’s acquisition of the Iron Dome were also reported. These are joined by reports of Israeli assistance to Greece, for the development of anti-UAV systems.
The security field is of particular importance, in part because in the past there has been significant Turkish-Israeli cooperation on these issues, and because Turkey has developed a UAV industry that has seen many successes (including the war in Ukraine) and is threatening, from the perspective of Greece and Cyprus.
The visit of the Israeli energy minister to Cyprus and the effort to reach a final agreement between the two countries on the issues related to the development of the joint Aphrodite-Yishai natural gas field, is also an important step in maintaining relations with Cyprus. Therefore, in the near future, Israel is expected to continue trying to balance between the desire to improve relations with Turkey and the importance it attaches to the existing relationship between Israel, Greece and Cyprus.
