“Trade ties, military ties, defense industry ties – we are completely suspending them. This process will be followed by different measures,” Erdogan told reporters in Ankara.
But the Wall Street Journal later quoted a spokesman for the Turkish premier who said the announcement only concerned defense trade, not private trade of goods and merchandise.
Erdogan also said that Turkey would implement further sanctions against Israel and said that “our ships will be seen more frequently in [the Eastern Mediterranean].”
The announcement came as diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel were severely strained following the release of the Palmer Commission report on the raid of the Mavi Marmara and Israel’s refusal to answer Ankara’s insistence that it issue an apology for the incident.
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