Turkish president Gul accepts proposal to visit Israel

The two leaders met at the U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen on Friday and the statement, issued in Jerusalem, said they had resolved "to restore Israel-Turkey relations to their stable, positive past".

It did not say when the visit might take place.

Relations between the two regional powers have soured since Israel launched an three-week military offensive in the Gaza Strip last December.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly criticised the operation, even having a public shouting match with Peres during a panel discussion in Switzerland in January.

Last month Erdogan singled out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to trust Ankara in Turkey's peace mediation efforts with Syria, unlike his predecessor Ehud Olmert.

/Reuters/