Roundup: Israel, Türkiye agree to restore full diplomatic ties

JERUSALEM/ANKARA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel and Türkiye agreed on Wednesday to reinstate full diplomatic ties and dispatch ambassadors to each other after years of tensions.

"Israel and Türkiye have decided to restore full diplomatic ties between our nations, including returning ambassadors," Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid wrote on Twitter.

"This will contribute not only to deepening our bilateral ties, but to strengthening regional stability," he said.

Türkiye confirmed that the two countries will reinstate the ambassadors as part of the normalization of ties.

"We have decided to appoint an ambassador to Israel's Tel Aviv," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, adding the relevant dialogue started after a new Israeli government took office in 2021.

The relations between Israel and Türkiye became strained in 2010 when a Turkish-led flotilla attempting to break Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip clashed with Israeli forces, leaving 10 Turks on board killed.

In 2018, Türkiye and Israel expelled each other's top diplomats amid a quarrel over the Israeli killing of 60 Palestinians during their protests against the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Türkiye and Israel have been working to mend their ties in the past months, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Türkiye in March, the first of its kind by a senior Israeli official since 2008, and their talks on pipelining natural gas from Israel to Europe via Türkiye.