ANKARA, 15 July 2021, (TON): A spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party said “Turkey and Israel agreed to work towards improving their strained relations after a rare phone call between their presidents.”

The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out. Ankara has condemned Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians, while Israel has called on Turkey to drop support for the Palestinian group Hamas that governs Gaza.

Both sides say the other must move first for any rapprochement.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Israel’s new president, Isaac Herzog, to congratulate him on taking office. Israel’s presidency is a largely ceremonial office.

Spokesman Omer Celik said after an AK Party meeting “a framework emerged after this call under which advances should be made on several issues where improvements can be made, and where steps towards solving problematic areas should be taken.”

Turkey has also recently been trying to repair its frayed ties with Saudi Arabia and Egypt.