ANKARA (AFP) — Israel has conveyed its misgivings to Turkey over a planned visit to the country by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an Israeli diplomat said Friday.
“We are concerned about this visit because we think it is not the appropriate time to host the Iranian president,” the diplomat, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
Israel voiced its concerns Thursday when the Turkish ambassador in Tel Aviv was summoned to the Israeli foreign ministry and the Israeli ambassador in Ankara visited the Turkish foreign ministry, the official said.
“It is not a good idea to give legitimacy” to a leader who has called for the destruction of Israel and denies the Holocaust, moreover at a time when Western powers are mulling fresh sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, he said.
Non-Arab and secular Turkey has been Israel’s main regional ally since 1996, when the two signed a military cooperation accord, much to the anger of Arab countries and Iran.
It is currently acting as mediator in indirect talks between Israel and its arch-foe Syria.
But mainly Muslim Turkey has recently improved ties with Iran, its eastern neighbour, and argues that its close dialogue both with the West and Tehran could be an asset for a peaceful resolution of the international standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Turkish officials have said Ahmadinejad will soon visit the country, without giving a date.
The visit is reportedly expected to take place on August 14.
The media have said Ahmadinejad is expected to meet with Turkish leaders in Istanbul rather than the capital Ankara, where the protocol would have required him to visit the tomb of Turkey’s secularist father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which the head of the Islamic state was reportedly reluctant to do.
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