Defense Minister Ehud Barak will make an official visit to Turkey in January for a visit with Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Haaretz reported.

Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, the Turkish envoy to Israel, met with Barak on Thursday and invited him for an official visit.

Relations between Israel and Turkey deteriorated after Israel's winter offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Barak said he views the visit as an important part of relations between Israel and Turkey.

"Turkey comprises a main factor in the region and an important axis between Israel and its neighbors," Barak said. "Israel's relations with Turkey are of utmost importance on all levels."

Earlier Thursday, Haaretz learned Israeli and Turkish officials are working to get President Shimon Peres and Turkish President Abdullah Gul to meet on the sidelines of the Copenhagen climate summit.

The behind-the-scenes efforts are a bid to take advantage of the leaders' joint presence at the meeting aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. The leaders' meeting is planned for Thursday or Friday morning.

Gul had been scheduled to make an official visit to Israel as Peres' guest, but canceled in the wake of a diplomatic crisis between the allies.

Tensions flared between the two countries in September after Turkey banned Israel from participating in a NATO air force drill. Ankara further strained relations when it refused to take off the air a television drama depicting Israeli soldiers killing Palestinian children.

However, recent reports indicated Turkey would continue to mediate peace talks between Israel and Syria, after Trade Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer visited Turkey last month to ease tensions.