Turkish president denies claims of planned meeting with Israeli president

Speaking to reporters prior to his departure for Nigeria on Wednesday, Gul denied the recent media stories claiming that he had been preparing to meet Israeli President Shimon Peres but the plans fell through.

Gul said he did not have any information about such a meeting and that there was no such plan on the agenda.

Several news stories in the Israeli press claimed that preparations had begun for a secret meeting between the Turkish and Israeli presidents to review ties in the wake of the infamous Israeli raid on the Turkish ship in the Gaza aid flotilla, however, the meeting did not take place.

Israeli commandos raided the Gaza-bound ship “Mavi Marmara” May 31, killing eight Turks and a U.S. citizen of Turkish origin. The attack has strained relations between Turkey and Israel to the point of breaking.

Turkish President Gul is traveling to Nigeria to attend the Developing Eight, or D-8, summit, which is a platform supporting cooperative progress among the economies of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.


/Hurriyet Daily News/