A top Turkish diplomat met Sunday with an Israeli official in Geneva to discuss ways of settling the deep crisis between the two countries, a Turkish foreign ministry official said. "I can confirm that a meeting took place today in Geneva," the official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
He said the Turkish foreign ministry's under-secretary, Feridun Sinirlioglu, met with an Israeli representative, whom he could not name. The official would not give other details. Bilateral ties between the one-time allies plunged into a deep crisis on May 31 when Israeli forces killed nine Turks as they raided an activist ship carrying aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip as part of an international campaign led by a Turkish Islamist charity. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sent the Israeli representative on the UN committee investigating the flotilla incident, Yosef Ciechanover, to Geneva to meet with the Turkish diplomat.