Abdullah Gul. Visited Turkish immigrants instead
Photo: AP
Ehud Barak. Left room before Gul's speech
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Gul boycotts Vienna event over Israel
Turkish president decides not to attend luncheon organized by Austrian counterpart after learning of Defense Minister Barak's presence
Turkish President Abdullah Gul boycotted an event hosted by his Austrian counterpart, Heinz Fischer, after learning that Israel's
Defense Minister Ehud Barak
would be attending too, Turkish news agency Anatolia reported.
Related stories:
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.
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