Turkey, Israel launch second leg of flotilla compensation talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - Delegations from Turkey and Israel have started the second leg of talks aimed at putting finishing touches on a tentative deal on raid compensation amid warming ties between the two former allies, Today’s Zaman reported.

The Turkish delegation traveled to Israel to hold talks as part of the normalization between the two countries. This is the first time a high-level Turkish delegation has visited Israel in two years after ties between the two countries nosedived.

The first leg of the compensation talks took place in Ankara last week and the sides tentatively agreed on basic principles of a possible accord.

Compensation for the killing of eight Turks and one Turkish American onboard the Mavi Marmara aid ship on its way to the blockaded Gaza Strip by Israeli commandos in 2010 is one of the key points of the Turkish demands of Israel in order to thaw relations between the region's former strategic allies.

Last month's visit to Turkey by high-ranking Israeli officials, led by Yaakov Amidror, an advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, came after the U.S.-brokered breakthrough in March when Israel offered an apology to Turkey for what it called “operational mistakes that might have led to deaths” on the ship.

In Monday's talks, the Israeli committee included special envoy and retired diplomat Joseph Ciechanover, who previously held talks with Turkey in Geneva regarding the make-up of the text of the apology, and Amidror. The Turkish delegation is headed by Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu.