Turkey denies secret visit of senior Israeli official to Ankara

June 27, 2011 - 11:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On June 26, the Turkish Foreign Ministry denied a report claiming that a senior Israeli official secretly visited Ankara and had talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss the restoration of military and intelligence collaboration with Israel, Today’s Zaman reported.

The report that appeared on the DEBKAfile website on Friday, June 24, alleged that Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon met with Erdoğan and Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MİT) chief Hakan Fidan to finalize an agreement to restore military and intelligence cooperation between Turkey and Israel in the eastern Mediterranean. It said the deal was worked out between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was discussed in a telephone conversation between the U.S. President and Turkish Prime Minister on June 21. Quoting its military sources, DEBKAfile said the deal also gives Erdoğan a role in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“A web site, whose closeness with some intelligence organizations is also mentioned in the international public opinion, alleged that the Israeli deputy prime minister secretly visited Turkey and met with our prime minister. The news that appeared on the website in question does not reflect the truth and is totally baseless,” a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

“Such news stories aim to disinform the public opinion. We invite the regional and international public opinion to be cautious while considering stories of that sort,” it added.

The report came amid suggestions that the deterioration in Turkish-Syrian ties over Turkish criticism of a Syrian protesters on anti-regime protesters could pave the way for improvement in Turkish-Israeli ties, which has been on a standstill since Israeli commandos attacked Gaza-bound flotilla on May 31, 2011.

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