US Secretary of State John Kerry called his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet
Davutoglu, last week, asking for help in restarting the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process, the Hurriyet daily reported on Saturday.
Turkey turned
down the request citing bad relations between Ankara and Jerusalem and saying
the responsibility to fix the murky relations between the two countries falls on
Israel.
Relations between Jerusalem and what was once its only Muslim
ally crumbled after Israel Navy commandos raided the Mavi Marmara ship in May
2010 to enforce a blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks on board
after they attacked the commandos.
“Turkey is always ready to do whatever
it needs for a fair two-state solution based on the 1967 borders,” Davutoglu
said during a joint press conference with Kerry in Ankara on March 1.
“If
Israel wants to hear positive statements from Turkey, it needs to review its
attitude. It needs to review its attitude toward us, and it needs to review its
attitude toward the people in the region and especially the West Bank
settlements issue,” the Turkish foreign minister said.
A Turkish official
speaking to Hurriyet has accused Jerusalem of blocking attempts to restore
relations with Ankara.
Kerry is scheduled to arrive in Israel to promote
the peace process shortly after US President Barack Obama finishes his visit to
Israel on Friday.
Reuters contributed to this report.