Israeli delegation's visit to Turkey suspended

A delegation from the Israeli government which planned to visit Turkey to discuss the issue of compensation for the bereaved families of Turkish citizens, has cancelled a visit to the country, Yeni ?afak newspaper said on Tuesday.

The visit was scheduled for April 11. According to the newspaper, it will now take place presumably after April 22.

Interception of the Freedom Flotilla comprising six ships loaded with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza, by Israeli military in May 2010, seriously complicated relations between Israel and Turkey, which earlier closely cooperated both militarily and politically. During the operation, Israeli Special Forces killed nine Turks, all members of the Freedom Flotilla. Turkish authorities demanded Israel officially apologised for the attack and pays compensation to the families of the victims.

The agreement on normalisation of relations between Turkey and Israel was reached last Friday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, apologised for violations committed during the maritime operation that resulted in the deaths of Turkish citizens.

The government heads agreed to restore normal relations including the return of ambassadors and Turkey's refusal to legally prosecute Israeli servicemen.


/Trend/