20 December 2015•Update: 21 December 2015
ANKARA
An official from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party said Sunday that no deal had yet been signed to normalize relations with Israel amid a flurry of media speculation about a diplomatic thaw between Ankara and Tel Aviv.
"There has been no definitive deal signed yet, but a draft is being worked on," AK Party Deputy Chairman Omer Celik told reporters in Ankara late Sunday.
His remarks came after Turkish diplomatic sources confirmed last Thursday that Turkey and Israel were holding talks aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations more than five years after they were severed.
In his statement to reporters, Celik stressed the "friendly" relations between the Turkish and Israeli people.
"Beyond all question, the state of Israel and its people are friends of Turkey," he said.
"Our criticisms until now are aimed at some actions of the Israeli government that are extreme and which we regard as illegitimate," he added.
On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said negotiations with Israel were "ongoing".
"One of our conditions [for normalized relations] has been met," he told reporters in New York, where he was attending talks on Syria at the UN Security Council.
"Talks are now ongoing at the expert level to fulfill our remaining two conditions," he said.
"We will all see how the talks will be concluded... These negotiations must continue," Cavusoglu added.
Ankara cut its diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv in 2010 after Israeli naval forces raided a Turkish ship bringing humanitarian supplies to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.
The incident, which occurred in international waters, left nine Turkish activists dead and 30 injured.
In order to restore diplomatic ties, Turkey has demanded an apology from Israel, compensation for the families of those killed in the attack, and the lifting of Israel’s eight-year blockade of Gaza.
The first of these conditions was fulfilled in 2013 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized for the attack to then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
