Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned Israel Monday that Turkey would cut diplomatic ties with the Jewish state if it does not apologize over its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that left nine Turkish activists dead in late May.
"Israelis have three options: They will either apologize or acknowledge an international-impartial inquiry and its conclusion. Otherwise, our diplomatic ties will be cut off," Hurriyet newspaper quoted Davutoglu as saying.
Turkey has long called for an international probe into the raid, but Davutoglu broke with the position saying Turkey would accept Israel's own commission to investigate the raid.
"If this commission concludes that the raid was unjust and if they apologize, that will be sufficient," he said, adding that Turkey wanted compensation from Israel for the attack. "If steps are not taken, the process of isolation will continue," he added.
For their part, Israel has refused to apologize for the globally condemned attack. "Israel cannot apologize because its soldiers had to defend themselves to avoid being lynched by a crowd," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday.
