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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TURKEY ISRAEL
HEADLINE: Israeli President’s Turkey Visit Heralds Thaw in Ties
TEASER: After 14 years, Israeli President visits Turkey as Ankara seeks normalization of ties in bid to end regional isolation
PUBLISHED AT: 03/08/2022 at 3:10pm
BYLINE: Dorian Jones
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Istanbul
VIDEOGRAPHER: Berke Bas DO NOT USE NAME FOR SECURITY REASONS, Agency, Courtesy
PRODUCER: Rob Raffaele
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, MAS, DJONES approved
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA ORIGINAL, AFP, REUTERS, MANDATORY ZOOM SKYPE COURTESIES.
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV X__ RADIO __
TRT: 2:55
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:))
((INTRO))
[[Israel's President Isaac Herzog starts a two-day visit to Turkey Wednesday, marking an improvement in relations that have been in a deep freeze for more than a decade. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.]]
((NARRATOR))
Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Ankara is the most significant sign yet of rapprochement efforts between the two countries.
Turkey withdrew its ambassador in 2018 in protest of Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip.
But Ankara is looking to normalize relations.
((RADIO VERSION: Commentator Selin Nasi, a columnist with the Salom newspaper, says that’s part of a new strategy by Turkey to recover from years of missing out on opportunities to expand its influence.))
((Selin Nasi, Columnist - female in English))
((Mandatory cg: Skype))
“Turkey wants to overcome its regional isolation; because of its missteps in foreign policy, Turkey has been locked out of alliance ties in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the Middle East. The power vacuum Turkey created only benefited its regional rivals.”
((NARRATOR))
There have been small protests by supporters of Palestinians ahead of Herzog's visit.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has, throughout his time in power, been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause.
Herzog is expected to raise Israeli concerns that Istanbul has become a base for Hamas to organize attacks against it. But analysts say the Israel official will be cautious and keep the focus on Israel’s goal of improving ties with Turkey.
((RADIO VERSION: Gallia Lindenstrauss, an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, says the two countries share a common concern about Iran.))
((Gallia Lindenstrauss, Institute for National Security Studies (Female in English))
((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“Basically, Israel acknowledges the important role Turkey has in the Middle East. It's a major country, a major power. Israel's main threat in the Middle East is the Iranian threat; it doesn't need all these tensions with Turkey; it's not useful for it.”
((NARRATOR))
Israel’s top concern is Iran's nuclear energy program and growing Iranian influence in the region. Ankara also sees this as common ground.
((RADIO VERSION: Ilnur Cevik is a senior advisor to Turkey’s president.))
((Ilnur Cevik, Senior Presidential Advisor - male in English))
((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“President Erdogan, in the past, has said there is Persian expansionism in the area, and the Iranians should stop this. So, he has voiced his concerns about this, and it remains so.”
((NARRATOR))
Energy is another area of cooperation. Turkey is a potential market for Israeli natural gas.
((NARRATOR))
Analysts say Ankara sees good ties with Israel as key to improving relations with Washington.
((RADIO VERSION: Soli Ozel is a professor of international relations at Kadir Has University.))
((Soli Ozel, Kadir Has University - male in English ON CAMERA VOA ORIGINAL))
“Turkey has benefited immensely from the Israeli lobby support in the U.S. Congress and given the fact that Turkey's relations with U.S. Congress, in particular, are pretty problematic, there is an effort obviously to, if you will, reconstruct the coalition that helped Turkey politically in the U.S. Congress.”
((NARRATOR))
Washington has welcomed current rapprochement efforts. But Herzog's visit is seen as only the first step. Analysts say a sign of this visit’s success will be if both sides agree to a future meeting between Erdogan and Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
((Dorian Jones, for VOA News, Istanbul))
NewsML Media TopicsConflict, War and Peace
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMarch 8, 2022 15:02 EST
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
