Turkey freezes trade, military ties with Israel

Turkey freezes trade, military ties with Israel

2011/09/07

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Turkey was freezing defense industry trade with Israel and stepping up Turkish naval patrols in the Eastern Mediterranean. "The Eastern Mediterranean is not a strange place to us. Aksaz and Iskenderun, these places have the power and opportunity to provide escorts," Erdogan told reporters referring to two Turkish naval bases. "Of course our ships will be seen much more frequently in those waters." On Friday, Turkey announced it was expelling Israel's ambassador and other senior diplomats, downgrading relations after the release of a UN report on the killing of nine Turks during an Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave of Gaza last year. Israel's refusal to apologize for the deaths has angered Turkey, a NATO member with the alliance's second biggest military, and Erdogan's government argues that Israel's blockade of Gaza lacks legitimacy. Erdogan also said Turkey was preparing more sanctions against Israel, and specifically said defense industry ties would be frozen. "Trade ties, military ties, regarding defense industry ties, we are completely suspending them. This process will be followed by different measures," Erdogan told reporters in Ankara.