Turkish President Abdullah Gul boycotted an event hosted by his Austrian counterpart, Heinz Fischer, after learning that Israel 'sDefense Minister Ehud Barak would be attending too, Turkish news agency Anatolia reported.
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Fischer hosted a luncheon in honor of heads of states and ministers attending the World Policy Conference in Vienna. The Turkish president was also invited, but decided now to show up after learning of Barak's presence.
According to the report, instead of attending the event, Gul chose to visit a local neighborhood of Turkish immigrants.
The report added that during the conference, Barak and the Israeli delegation left the room before Gul's speech.
- Turkish leaders have been avoiding meeting with their Israeli counterparts on the backdrop of the diplomatic crisis between the two countries. About three months ago, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu walked out of a UN conference on terror during Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon's speech.