Turkish, Israeli presidents vow to boost bilateral cooperation

Erdogan

ISTANBUL, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog on Sunday pledged to boost cooperation between the two countries.

During a phone call, Erdogan and Herzog discussed Turkish-Israeli relations and regional issues, and agreed that dialogue and cooperation would continue on the matters of mutual defense and the fight against terrorism, the Turkish Directorate of Communications said in a statement.

Herzog thanked the Turkish leader for Turkey's efforts to fight terrorism in the region, it added.

Turkey and Israel have recently seen thawing relations after a decade of deterioration in bilateral ties. After Israeli troops killed dozens of Palestinian protesters during the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem in 2018, Turkey even recalled its ambassador from Israel, prompting the latter to also recall its ambassador.