Turkey and Israel, former foes inching toward normalization for one and a half years, have taken new steps toward reconciliation as they initialed an aviation accord and announced the reopening of the Israeli commercial office in Istanbul.
The presidents of the two countries, Isaac Herzog of Israel and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, also talked on the phone today, Turkey’s Communication Directorate announced. The two leaders discussed bilateral and regional issues and expressed the will to further bilateral relations through “concrete steps.” Herzog also extended his good wishes to Erdogan for Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha that starts on July 9.
