Ahlul Bayt News Agency ; Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Monday that he would no longer be able to meet with President Shimon Peres on the sidelines of a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.
Gul will meet with IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman reported last Friday that Gul and Peres would hold talks, the first of its kind between the Ankara and Tel Aviv high level government representatives since the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid fleet in May, during which nine Turkish nationals were killed.
"We will not forgive Israel for those killed in the Israeli attack on the aid flotilla, even if Israel apologizes.", Gul said.
Last week, Today's Zaman quoted an unnamed official as saying that Gul had intended to tell Peres that relations between the two countries won't be normalized until Israel apologizes for the flotilla raid and pays monetary compensation to the families of those killed during the ensuing clashes.
Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said in June that Israel would not apologize to Turkey over the raid and that the demand for an official apology was mainly an excuse to allow Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to cut diplomatic ties with Israel.
Turkey recalled their ambassador to Israel after the raid and has said it will not send an ambassador back unless Israel apologizes for the raid and pays the requested compensation. They have also threatened to impose sanctions against Israel.
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