Responding to questions about changes in diplomatic relations with Israel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his office was “having talks with President (Isaac) Herzog" and he may be visiting Turkey soon.” Emphasizing similar willingness on the Israeli side for fully normalizing bilateral relations, Erdogan said that “Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also has a positive approach."

Herzog declined to comment on this information, but an unnamed Israeli diplomatic source confirmed today that Herzog's office is in contact with Erdogan's office to examine the possibility of a visit. No date was mentioned by either side.

If this really happens, Herzog would be the first Israeli president to visit Turkey since Shimon Peres in 2007. Peres came at the time to Ankara at the invitation of then-Turkish President Abdullah Gul, addressing the Turkish parliament, participating in a tripartite meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and meeting with then-Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan.

The last visit in Turkey of a senior Israeli official was in 2017 when then-Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz traveled to the country. Steinitz was in Turkey four years ago for the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul. Last year, still under the Netanyahu government, he was invited to Turkey again, this time for the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in what should have been the first visit of an Israeli minister in Turkey since Ankara recalled its ambassador in Israel three years before that. Still, Ankara withdrew its invitation to Steinitz at the very last moment over tensions on the Jerusalem Temple Mount compound and the Gaza border, and the visit was canceled.