Erdogan: Turkey needs Israel

Turkey must accept that it needs Israel, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday, as the two countries seek to thrash out a deal on normalizing ties.

"Israel is in need of a country like Turkey in the region," Erdogan said in remarks to Turkish reporters published in leading dailies Saturday. "And we too must accept that we need Israel. This is a reality in the region," said Erdogan.