Former Israeli Foreign Minister and Minister of Regional Development Silvan Shalom disclosed that during his time in office between 2003 and 2016, he had visited several Gulf, Arab and Islamic countries, and met with a number of their officials.
Shalom revealed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had set the stage for many of the meetings, some of which were held in Turkey.
Speaking to a local radio station in Tel Aviv, Shalom indicated that Erdogan was keen to expand Israel's relations with Arab and Islamic states, in return for Israel helping him join the European Union.
The Minister believes that establishing relations between Israel and the Arab countries could help settle the conflict with Palestine. He said he had conveyed this to Erdogan and leaders of Arab and Islamic states.
The Turkish president had organized a number of these meetings, including talks with the Pakistani foreign minister, announced Shalom.
The official welcomed Israel’s recent agreement with the United Arab Emirates. However, he warned of its "price" noting that he categorically rejects a US deal to sell F-35s to the UAE.
He explained that US President Donald Trump "is backing us now, but what if he changed his mind? Or if another president who decided not to support Israel was elected? We should rely on ourselves and reject any sale of advanced weapons to other countries in the Middle East."
Meanwhile, former spokesman for Sudan’s Foreign Ministry Haidar Badawi Sadiq told Israel’s Kan TV channel that he could no longer remain silent about his country’s relations with Israel.
He indicated that he confirmed Sudan's relations with Israel when asked by local reporters on Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen’s claim that official ties could be inked between the countries by the end of the year.
Sadiq was axed Wednesday after publicly disclosing normalization talks between Sudan and Israel.
He said he didn’t understand why his comments had caused such uproar, claiming that Sudan had begun warming relations with Israel before the UAE had.
“We need to be brave, just like President al-Burhan who met with Netanyahu and like the senior officials in the UAE,” Sadiq said.
“I very much support peace with Israel because it will benefit Sudan,” he said, hoping to visit Israel in the future.
