Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a phone call arranged with help from President Obama, apologized to Turkey Friday for the deaths of its citizens during a 2010 Gaza flotilla raid.
Netanyahu acknowledged "operational mistakes" in the raid, according to one official, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accepted the apology.
The phone call, which Obama also joined, was described as a "first step" toward normalizing relations between the two countries.
Obama, who arrived in Jordan Friday after his first visit to Israel as president, had discussed relations with Turkey during his time on the ground meeting with Israeli officials. This culminated with the call from the tarmac to Erdogan on Friday. Netanyahu also reportedly agreed to compensate the families of the victims.
Netanyahu said the "tragic results" were not intentional and Israel "expressed remorse" for the loss of life.
The phone call Friday comes shortly after newly appointed Secretary of State John Kerry visited with Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara on March 1.
Note EU-Digest: In a statement released by the White House only minutes before Obama
ended a visit to Israel, the president said Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erodgan had spoken by
telephone.
“The United States deeply values our close partnerships
with both Turkey and Israel, and we attach great importance to the
restoration of positive relations between them in order to advance
regional peace and security,” Obama said.
The first conversation between the two leaders since
2011, when Netanyahu phoned to offer help after an earthquake struck
Turkey, gave Obama a diplomatic triumph in a visit to Israel and the
Palestinian Territories in which he offered no new plan to revive peace
talks frozen for nearly three years.
The 30-minute call was made in a runway trailer at Tel
Aviv airport, where Obama and Netanyahu huddled before the president
boarded Air Force One for a flight to Jordan, U.S. officials said.
Read more: Netanyahu apologizes to Turkish PM for Gaza flotilla raid, in phone call with Obama | Fox News
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