After Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan confronted and publicly insulted Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the two countries are making efforts to mend their relationship.
Israeli President Peres telephoned Prime Minister Erdogan to apologize on Friday, and called the confrontation an "argument between friends". Peres said that he had not meant to criticize the Turkish leader personally, and expressed his utmost respect for Prime Minister Erdogan and for the Turkish nation. According to the Turkish News Agency, the Israeli ambassador in Ankara also released a statement in which he said that Israel believes relations will soon be back to normal.
In Turkey, officials of the General Staff confirmed today that a purchase of millions of dollars of Israeli military equipment will continue as planned. This apparently also includes $180 million to buy the Israeli unmanned aircraft "Harpy", which was used to attack Palestinians in Gaza during the recent fighting.
Although Prime Minister Erdogan said Thursday that he would not return to Davos, the Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, said on Friday that he looks forward to Erdogan's participation in Davos Summit next year.
The hero of the event Prime Minister Erdogan today made a telephone call to the President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, in which he stated that Turkey is on side of right and victimized groups.
