IDF chief in Turkey to mend damaged ties
Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi's visit is first Turkish trip by an army chief in five years.
By Haaretz Service Tags: Israel news IDFIDF Chief of the Staff Ashkenazi traveled to Ankara Monday morning for talks with Turkish defense officials, the army said.
The visit is the first to Turkey by an Israel army chief for five years and follows a diplomatic crisis that saw a near-total breakdown in relations between the countries.
Ashkenazi will take part in an international NATO conference on terrorism and international cooperation but is also expected to hold high-level talks with Israel's traditional military ally on Iran, Syria and Lebanon, according to an Israel Radio report.
Ties hit a low point earlier this year after Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Ankara's ambassador to explain an anti-Israeli program aired on Turkish television.
At the meeting, which was open to the press, Ayalon deliberately humiliated the envoy by seating him on a lower chair, sparking an angry Turkish response.
Israel has since sought to mend relations with its closest friend in the Muslim world.
The last visit to Turkey by an IDF Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Dan Halutz, was in December 2005.
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Ashkenazi is not a fanatic like Mofaz. He is more like Barak, is a rational man, not a sadist or racist. Gaza and more than a thousand civilian deaths ? Well, in Gaza it was a collective crime of whole Israel, not Ashkenazi's own fault. As for Turkey, we have a government (islamically as fanatical as Hamas in truth) that hates Israel not because Israel commits crimes against humanity but because Israel commits crimes against muslims. Govt in Turkey also applies a lot of pressure on both army and judiciary (Zvi Bar'el knows a lot about this). Ashkenazi's visit will serve no purpose, will have no positive or negative influence, wasting of Israeli taxpayer money in my opinion.
The Turkish Military are under scrutiny by the current Pro Iranian Government in Ankara. Apart from a few handshakes between Officers and Gentlemen, not much will be said. Israel, has never taken Turkey to task over the Armenian Genocide, mainly due to its once close ties with Ankara. These ties, are not and never will be rekindled. Not while the current Government of Mr.Erdogan and his party are in power. Good luck..General Gabi Ashkenazi.
Danny Ayalon humilating the Turks, Eli Yishai getting under Joe Biden's skin . . . makes you wonder, have inmates taken over the running of the asylum?