Erdogan: We insisted on Israeli apology
Turkish premier says Ankara rejected several Israeli proposals to end diplomatic crisis prior to Obama's visit to region. 'They said, ‘Isn’t it enough if we pay?’ We said no'
According to Erdogan, Turkey insisted on three major conditions for the improvement of relations with Israel that included the use of the word "apology," Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported.
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In a meeting with fellow party members Erdogan said, "We constantly gave them three conditions. An apology. They wanted to express sorrow, but we said no. We wanted the word apology.”
The Turkish prime minister claimed that Israeli officials had agreed to pay compensation to the Marmara victims' families but were reluctant to meet Ankara's two other demands: an apology and an end of the Gaza blockade. "“They said, ‘Isn’t it enough if we pay?’ We said no,” Erdogan told party members.
“Another text came to us ahead of President Barack Obama’s Middle East visit,” he added. “There were things there that were unacceptable, so we turned it down.”
According to Erdogan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised to start work on easing the siege.
“I told him that we accepted the apology, and that we would follow up with the compensations and the embargo,” the Turkish premier remarked. “We will monitor the situation to see if the promises are kept or not.”
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