Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is traveling to Ankara on Thursday to meet with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, a statement from his office on Sunday said.

The visit will focus on the security cooperation between the two countries in the face of the Iranian threat of attacks against Israeli tourists on Turkish soil.

Çavuşoğlu visited Israel in May following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s efforts to warm ties between the two countries.

Also on Sunday, President Isaac Herzog spoke with Erdoğan to discuss joint efforts to foil Iranian attacks against Israelis on Turkish soil.

“I have just spoken with Turkish President Erdogan against the backdrop of intentions to perpetrate terror attacks against Israelis in Istanbul,” Herzog stated. “I thanked him for the efforts to thwart terrorist activities on Turkish soil. I emphasized that the threat has not yet passed.”

“The counterterror effort must continue. Our cooperation makes a great contribution to the trust being built between our countries’ governments and peoples. We agreed to continue working for peace and stability in our region by means of open and ongoing dialogue.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)