ANKARA, 09 February 2022, (TON): Turkey will not turn its back on its commitment to a Palestinian state in order to broker closer ties with Israel, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, ahead of an expected visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog next month.

The two countries expelled their ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out and relations have remained tense but Ankara has taken steps to mend strained regional ties, including with Israel.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said “Herzog would visit Turkey in mid-March, the first such trip in years, adding the two countries could discuss energy cooperation. Herzog has yet to confirm the visit.”

Ankara, which supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has condemned Israel's occupation of the West Bank and its policy towards Palestinians, while Israel has called on Turkey to drop support for the Palestinian group Hamas which runs Gaza.

Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara "any step we take with Israel regarding our relations, any normalisation, will not be at the expense of the Palestinian cause, like some other countries.”