The report on the Web site of Israeli newspaper Haaretz said Turkish Ambassador to Israel Oğuz Çelikkol conveyed the invitation to Barak at a meeting on Thursday.
Barak’s visit, if realized, will be the second ministerial visit from Israel to Turkey since relations deteriorated in the wake of an Israeli offensive in Gaza in January that left about 1,400 Palestinians dead. President Abdullah Gül had planned to visit Israel early this year, but the plans were canceled amid the crisis in ties. Israeli Minister for Industry, Trade and Labor Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who became the first Israeli minister to visit Turkey following the Gaza crisis, invited Gül to visit Israel but was told by Turkish leaders that Israel should act to improve the tragic humanitarian conditions in Gaza first. Gül is expected to decide whether to visit Israel following a visit by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, whose trip date is yet to be set.
Barak said he views the visit as an important part of relations between Israel and Turkey. “Turkey is a main factor in the region and an important axis between Israel and its neighbors,” he was quoted as saying by Haaretz.
Haaretz also reported that Israeli and Turkish officials are working to get Israeli President Shimon Peres and Gül to meet on the sidelines of the Copenhagen climate summit. The behind-the-scenes efforts are a bid to take advantage of the leaders’ joint presence at the meeting aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, the report said. The leaders’ meeting is planned for Thursday or Friday morning.
