Israeli, Russian FMs to visit Turkey
AFP
Date: 05-24-06
ANKARA (AFP) - The foreign ministers of Israel and Russia are set to visit Turkey to discuss regional issues and bilateral cooperation, the foreign ministry said.
Israel's Tzipi Livni, scheduled to be in Ankara on Sunday and Monday, is to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and her counterpart Abdullah Gul to discuss the Mideast conflict and Turkish-Israeli ties, the statement said.
The talks will be the highest level contact between the two regional allies after Turkey angered Israel in February by hosting a delegation from the radical group Hamas after its victory in the Palestinian elections.
Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government defended the talks as an effort to put pressure on Hamas to renounce violence and vowed to maintain close ties with Israel.
Non-Arab and strictly secular Turkey has been the Jewish state's main regional ally since 1996 when the two sides signed a military cooperation deal, much to the anger of Arab countries and Iran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, is scheduled to hold talks in Ankara next Wednesday and Thursday, the statement said.
Turkey's ties with Russia have significantly improved since the end of the Cold War, particularly in the economic field.
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