Erdogan says Turkey ready to cooperate with Israel on energy

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he believed his Israeli counterpart's visit will be a turning point in long-strained relations between the regional powers, and that Ankara was ready for cooperate in the energy sector.

He was speaking after talks with President Isaac Herzog, who was in Ankara for the first such trip by an Israeli leader since 2008.

The rivals are seeking to cool years of animosity, primarily over Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and Ankara's support for the militant Islamist group Hamas governing Gaza.

Erdogan has said previously the two countries could work together to carry Israeli natural gas to Europe, reviving an idea first discussed more than 20 years ago.

Gas supplies from the Mediterranean could ease European dependence on Russian gas, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent calls from European leaders to reduce the continent's reliance on Moscow.

Plans for a subsea pipeline from the east Mediterranean to Europe, excluding Turkey, stalled after the United States expressed misgivings in January.

Erdogan also said he had conveyed Turkey's approach on the Palestinian issue to his counterpart.

Herzog said the two countries must agree that they would not agree on everything.

"But we shall aspire to solve our disagreements with mutual respect and goodwill, by means of the proper mechanisms and institutions, which we shall develop together, and with our sights together on a common future," he said.

"You and I, and your people and mine, we are all children of Abraham - the father of believers in God," he added.

Through the years of animosity, Turkey and Israel have maintained trade, which stood at $6.7 billion in 2021, up from $5 billion in 2019 and 2020, according to official data.

Erdogan said he hoped trade would reach $10 billion this year.