Israel moves to repair links with Turks

ISRAEL’S defence minister, Ehud Barak, met Turkey’s foreign minister yesterday to try to repair ties between the allies that were further strained this week by a diplomatic row in which Israel was forced to apologise for its treatment of the Turkish ambassador.

Barak is the first Israeli official to visit Turkey since the diplomatic feud that erupted on Monday after Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, summoned Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol to complain about a TV show.

The ambassador was forced to sit on a low sofa without a handshake, while Ayalon explained to local TV stations that the humiliation was intentional. Outraged, Turkey threatened to recall the ambassador, forcing Ayalon to apologise.