Turkey has decided to completely sever all trade and economic ties with Israel, and has also closed its airspace to Israeli aircraft. This was stated by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, as reported by The Jerusalem Post, according to UNN.
Details
Turkey has decided to completely sever all trade and economic ties with Israel and is closing its airspace to Israeli aircraft.
The publication notes that while the economic consequences of this move are not yet known, detours caused by the airspace closure could increase flight times from Israel to countries like Georgia and Azerbaijan by almost two hours.
An Israeli official stated that "Turkey has already announced the severance of economic relations with Israel in the past, but relations continued."
This move comes after reports that Turkish port authorities have unofficially begun requiring shipping agents to provide letters stating that vessels are not linked to Israel and are not carrying military or dangerous goods destined for that country.
According to sources in the shipping industry, this move is another measure taken by Turkey against Israel after it severed $7 billion worth of annual trade relations with the country last year due to the war in Gaza with Hamas.
Recall
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time publicly acknowledged the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks in the Ottoman Empire, which angered Ankara.