Analysis: Why Turkey's Erdogan Appeases Israel?

Turkey and Israel are mending their long-strained relations, and energy has emerged as a key area for potential cooperation. The two countries expelled the ambassadors in 2018, and exchanged accusations and sharp statements about the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Analysts believe that this rapprochement is due to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s desire to strengthen his country’s faltering economy, especially with regard to joint gas projects.

During the first visit of a high-ranking Turkish official in 15 years to Israel, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid affirmed that their two countries seek to develop joint economic relations.

The foreign ministers of Israel and Turkey said on Wednesday that their countries hope to expand the scope of economic relations as they seek to end the tension in relations that have lasted for more than a decade.

The statements came during the second day of Cavusoglu’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the first visit of its kind by a high-ranking Turkish official in 15 years.

“The goal is to form and expand economic and civil cooperation between our two countries… and to increase the advantages that our two countries have regionally and globally, even during the pandemic and even in times of political tension,” Lapid said in a statement, next to Cavusoglu in Jerusalem.

“We believe that the normalization of our relations will also have a positive impact on the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Turkey is ready to take responsibility for continuing efforts for dialogue,” Cavusoglu said.

The two ministers said that officials from the two countries will start work on a new agreement on civil aviation.

On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of the two countries agreed to officially begin allowing Israeli airlines to land in Turkey.

Cavusolgu visited the Holocaust memorial earlier on Wednesday before heading to Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, which is considered the third holiest religious site for Muslims.

US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed in 2014, and the two sides have not held serious talks since.

Turkey’s aspirations to revive the gas project with Israel are far from reality

After years of hostility, Turkey is ready to cooperate with Israel in the energy field by reviving a project to deliver Israeli gas to Europe, but the plan faces Israeli skepticism against the backdrop of diplomatic tension and looks like a dream, according to experts, given its logistical complexities and cost.

Erdogan has expressed his willingness to “cooperate (with Israel) in the field of energy and energy security projects” with the possibility of Israeli gas being transported to Europe via Turkey at a time when the war in Ukraine raises concerns about supplies.

“Turkey has the experience and capacity to implement such projects. Recent developments in our region have once again demonstrated the importance of energy security,” he said in March.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a historic visit to Ankara in March to build ties with his Turkish counterpart, and the two leaders announced a new era after a diplomatic rupture that lasted for more than a decade.

But according to some experts, Israel does not seem very interested in cooperation with Turkey in the field of energy.

In 2016, the two countries agreed to start a feasibility study for building an undersea pipeline to pump Israeli gas to Turkish consumers and then to Europe.

However, no progress has been achieved in light of the tension between the two parties, at a time when Erdogan is marketing himself as the most prominent defender of the Palestinian cause and supports the Hamas movement.

But Erdogan has avoided criticizing the Jewish state in recent months, expressing his sadness over the violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in a phone call with Herzog in April.

The pipeline project passes through disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean, an area that usually provokes disputes between Turkey on the one hand and Greece and Cyprus on the other.

Ankara depends largely on Russia for its energy imports, as Russian sources covered 45 percent of its gas demand last year, while it seems determined to persify its supplies and has Israel’s growing resources in mind.

Turkey imports natural gas via pipelines from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. It also buys liquefied natural gas from destinations including Qatar, Nigeria, Algeria and the United States.