Lapid, Erdoğan Hold 1st Meeting in 14 Years Between Israeli PM, Turkish President

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. It was the first time an Israeli prime minister and Turkish president had met since 2008.

Turkey restored full diplomatic relations with Israel last month as part of a campaign to mend its ties with several countries, in an effort to attract foreign investment. Turkey’s economy is buckling under a severe economic crisis, with inflation officially reported at more than 80%, and its president is looking to shore up support ahead of elections, scheduled for June 2023.

Also on Tuesday, ahead of Lapid’s meeting with Erdoğan, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced the appointment of Irit Lillian, the current chargé d’affaires at the Israeli Embassy in Ankara, as the country’s new ambassador to Turkey.

Lapid and Erdoğan spoke about the importance of the countries’ cooperation and intelligence-sharing in the fight against terrorism, particularly in light of Iranian attempts to carry out attacks against Israelis on Turkish soil. They also discussed bilateral economic ties, the restoration of Israeli flights to Turkey, and energy cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Lapid also raised the issue of bringing home missing and captive Israelis.