Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey must accept that it needs Israel.

The statement came as the two countries seek to normalize their relations.

NATO member Turkey was a key regional ally of Israel until the two countries fell out over the storming by Israeli commandos in 2010 of a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, bound for Gaza.

“Israel is in need of a country like Turkey in the region,” Erdogan said in remarks to Turkish reporters published in leading dailies Saturday.

“And we too must accept that we need Israel. This is a reality in the region,” saidErdogan.

“If mutual steps are implemented based on sincerity, then normalisation will follow.”

Analysts have suggested that Turkey�s rapprochement with Israel has been accelerated by the need for Ankara to make up for its crisis in ties with Moscow after the shooting down of a Russian warplane.

Last month it was reported that a breakthrough was reached in the reconciliation talks between Turkey and Israel, but Jerusalem and Ankara made it clear that the reports were premature.

(Source: EJP)