Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to visit Türkiye, President Erdoğan says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Türkiye, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday.

"I told him (Netanyahu), 'We are expecting you first, and then I will pay a visit to Israel with my delegation', and we agreed on that," Erdoğan told reporters during his visit to New York.

"We will start energy drilling work with Israel. Not only will we begin operating energy transmission lines to Türkiye, but also from Türkiye to Europe," he added.

On Tuesday, Erdoğan met with Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly and discussed a range of issues including bilateral ties and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Currently, we (Türkiye and Israel) have a total trade volume of $9.5 billion. We reached an agreement to increase this trade volume from $9.5 billion to a minimum of $15 billion in the first phase," the Turkish president said.

Erdoğan said they also discussed what they can do together in international politics.

"We talked about the benefits of establishing a mechanism in which our ministers can participate to increase cooperation in various fields between the two countries," he added.It is possible for the two countries to work together to establish new collaborations in areas such as energy, tourism, and technology, Erdoğan said.

''THESSALONIKI SUMMIT IN GREECE IS EXPECTED TO BE AN IMPORTANT LEAP IN ANKARA-ATHENS TIES''

Erdoğan said both Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and he share the same approach to distracting the "distressed air" in the Aegean region.

Concerning the Thessaloniki summit, he emphasized that it is Ankara's top priority.

"Thessaloniki summit will be an important leap" in bilateral relations between the two countries, he underlined.

He also noted that the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers will make the necessary preparations for the summit to be held on Dec. 7.

Both countries have experienced natural disasters lately, Erdoğan said, adding that they have been the most important factor in bringing Türkiye and Greece closer together in terms of lending a helping hand when needed.

High-level contacts, which appear to be increasing, have also supported the positive atmosphere between Ankara and Athens, he highlighted.

Expressing hope that the Thessaloniki summit will add more fuel to the developing relations, the Turkish president said both countries have to avoid steps and discourses that would harm the "trust environment."

"We have to take steps together" for this process to progress with peace, he added.