Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held their first-ever meeting on Tuesday following Erdoğan’s speech at the UN in which he reiterated his support for a Palestinian state.
The Turkish president said his country could cooperate with Israel on energy, technology, innovation, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, according to a statement by Erdoğan’s communications office.
“During the meeting, international and regional issues, political and economic relations between the two countries as well as the latest developments regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were discussed,” the statement said.
Erdoğan’s communications office posted photos on X, formerly Twitter, showcasing the two leaders seated together and joined by key officials such as the Turkish foreign minister and the head of Turkish intelligence.
Omer Özkizilcik, a foreign policy and security analyst based in Ankara, noted that current geopolitical positions between the two countries align in ways that could mutually benefit their objectives. These include Turkey’s repeated desire to be an energy hub for Israeli gas and to help send exports to Europe.
“Seeing that interests align in the political, economic, and energy fields, Netanyahu and Erdoğan hid their past grievances and acted as state leaders,” Özkizilcik wrote in a message to The Media Line.
Both leaders also conversed with billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, discussing potential collaboration in artificial intelligence, an area Erdoğan confirmed was discussed in his meeting with Netanyahu.
Erdoğan further encouraged Musk to consider establishing a Tesla factory in Turkey.
Facing years of economic struggles and a currency crisis that escalated its debt burden, Turkey has been actively seeking foreign investment, a drive spearheaded by President Erdoğan.
The Israeli prime minister’s social media account on X indicated upcoming reciprocal visits aimed at reinforcing the renewed relationship between the two nations. It also noted discussions on normalizing Israel-Saudi Arabia relations, another country with which Ankara has recently mended ties.
“The leaders decided to continue advancing bilateral relations in trade, economic matters, and energy,” according to the social media account.
Ryan Bohl, a Middle East analyst for the risk intelligence company RANE, told The Media Line that the meeting was overall positive for Israel, and it was a sign of Turkey softening its tone on Palestinian issues amid an improvement in relations with the country.
In his UN General Assembly speech, Erdoğan stated that a Palestinian state would also benefit Israel. This marked a more muted tone compared to his previous comments, where he had labeled Israel a “terrorist state.”
This change “speaks to wider trends in which countries are seeking Israeli technology and military support at the expense of the Palestinian cause,” Bohl wrote in a message to The Media Line.
Bohl added that a visit to Jerusalem could offer Erdoğan an opportunity to assume a mediator role between the Palestinians and Israel.
A recent restoration
Israel and Turkey recently restored diplomatic ties after a break in relations in 2018 over the killing of Palestinian protesters.
The relationship between the two countries had previously plunged in 2010 following a deadly Israeli raid of a ship carrying Turkish activists headed to Gaza.
During his UN speech, Erdoğan also backed Azerbaijan as Baku launched a military operation in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, although a cease-fire was reached on Wednesday.
Baku has twice gone to war with Armenia over this area that is located within Azerbaijan but whose residents are mostly ethnic Armenians.
The Turkish president on Tuesday stated that Azerbaijan had a right to the territory and put the blame on Armenia.
“We always supported the diplomacy between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Unfortunately, we see that Armenia cannot make use of this historical opportunity,” Erdoğan told the audience in New York.
“We will continue to support the rightful cause of Azerbaijan,” he added.
Ankara has been a long-time ally of Azerbaijan against Turkey’s foe Armenia, and Baku used Turkish drones in a 2020 war, which ended with a Russia-brokered cease-fire.
Erdoğan also said he hoped for democratic governance in Niger and warned against military intervention in the country, which experienced a coup in July.
Özkizilcik stated that the Turkish president’s comments about Niger were especially notable because he believed it showed Ankara’s increasing role in Africa.