Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone on Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement, in an apparent bid to repair relations between the two U.S. allies.

“The United States deeply values our close partnerships with both Turkey and Israel, and we attach great importance to the restoration of positive relations between them in order to advance regional peace and security,” Obama said in the statement released by the White House just before he ended a visit to Israel.

“I am hopeful that today’s exchange between the two leaders will enable them to engage in deeper cooperation on this and a range of other challenges and opportunities,” the president said.

(Reuters)