IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi
traveled to Ankara on Monday to attend a NATO conference. During his visit, which will last until Monday evening, he is slated to meet with his Turkish counterpart General Ilker Basbug and with Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul. The visit was kept secret until Monday morning.
The NATO conference on terror and international cooperation will be at the center of Ashkenazi's trip. The Turkish chief of staff will head the conference, which will be attended by military commanders from additional North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries.
Ashkenazi (R) with Turkish counterpart (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Ashkenazi is slated to visit and lay a wreath on the Ataturk monument. Before his return to Israel, he will also take part in the NATO conference's official dinner. It should be noted that this is the first visit by an Israeli chief of staff in Turkey since December 2005.
The chief of staff's visit comes at a sensitive time, amid rising tensions between Jerusalem and Ankara. The crisis initially broke out immediately after Operation Cast Lead
in Gaza, when Turkey harshly criticized
the IDF's action in the Strip.
A number of diplomatic incidents ensued, the most serious of which was the "chair incident"
in which Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon humiliated Turkish Ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol.
Nonetheless, the Israeli Turkish ambassador to Israel said last week in a meeting with several Knesset members that "the coming weeks should see developments in Israel-Turkey ties."
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