Israel formally complained to Turkey about the coming visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“Israel is disappointed that Turkey has invited for an official visit a leader who denies publicly the Holocaust, and thus grants him legitimacy,” was the official message relayed this week to Turkish diplomats in Tel Aviv and Ankara, Ha’aretz reported.
Ahmadinejad, who is due to visit next week, had been rebuffed for four years in his attempts to visit Iran’s neighbor. Recently, however, Turkey has intensified its relations with Iran, apparently hoping to calm regional tensions engendered by Iran’s suspected plans to obtain a nuclear weapon.
