Israeli, Turkish Leaders to Meet at United Nations

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Reuters file photo
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Reuters file photo
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Israeli, Turkish Leaders to Meet at United Nations

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Reuters file photo
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Reuters file photo

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid is to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, as relations between the two countries thaw.

Lapid's office said he would travel to New York on Monday night, ahead of an address to the General Assembly on Thursday.

The office said that while in New York he would also meet the prime minister of Greece.

A source said the meeting with Erdogan would take place on Tuesday.

It came as Israel's armed forces chief Lieutenant General Aviv Kohavi announced his first visit to France and Poland to meet with senior officials in the two countries.

Last month, Türkiye and Israel announced the full restoration of diplomatic ties following years of strained relations.

In May, Mevlut Cavusoglu became the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Israel in 15 years.

Erdogan described a fence-mending visit to Ankara by Israeli President Isaac Herzog in March as "a turning point in our relations".

Relations began to fray in 2008, following an Israeli military operation in Gaza.

Relations then froze in 2010 after the deaths of 10 civilians following an Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of an aid flotilla trying to breach the Israeli blockade on Gaza.

A brief reconciliation lasted from 2016 until 2018, when Türkiye withdrew its ambassador and expelled Israel's over the killing of Palestinians. More than 200 Gazans were shot dead by Israeli forces during border protests in 2018 and 2019.



Kremlin Says Russia and US Are Preparing More Talks 

A woman walks next to Russian flags placed in front of the Kremlin on a clear sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 25 February 2025. (EPA)
A woman walks next to Russian flags placed in front of the Kremlin on a clear sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 25 February 2025. (EPA)
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Kremlin Says Russia and US Are Preparing More Talks 

A woman walks next to Russian flags placed in front of the Kremlin on a clear sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 25 February 2025. (EPA)
A woman walks next to Russian flags placed in front of the Kremlin on a clear sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 25 February 2025. (EPA)

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that preparations were being made for expert-level talks between Russia and the United States to follow up on a high-level meeting last week and an earlier call between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that there was an understanding that Trump and Putin should meet in person after thorough preparation, but said there were no details yet on when and where this would happen.

He said the two leaders could speak again by phone if needed, but there were no current plans for this.

"Contacts are being prepared at the expert level through the ministries of foreign affairs," Peskov said, without providing any further details.

Trump has expressed a desire to bring about a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible. His rapid moves to repair relations with Moscow, reversing the policy of the previous administration of Joe Biden, have raised fears in Kyiv and among its European allies that they could be sidelined.

Putin this week tempered expectations for a quick deal on Ukraine, saying that US-Russia contacts would initially focus on repairing trust between Moscow and Washington.

Peskov declined to comment on a reported minerals agreement between the US and Ukraine that Trump has said would allow the US taxpayer to recoup money that Washington has provided to Ukraine in the course of the war.

The Kremlin spokesman noted reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would visit Trump on Friday.

"Whether it will be (to sign) the aforementioned agreement or something else, we'll see. There have been no official statements on this matter yet," he said.

A source familiar with the contents of the draft agreement told Reuters on Tuesday that it does not specify any US security guarantees or continued flow of weapons, but says that the United States wants Ukraine to be “free, sovereign and secure.”