Azerbaijan, Baku, July 6 / Trend A. Tagiyeva /
Negotiations with the Israeli authorities do not mean that Ankara has changed its position toward Israel, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at a press conference today.
Relations between Turkey and Israel -- two strategic and military partners -- worsened after Israeli naval attacks on the "Flotilla of Freedom" carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on May 31.
Nine Turks fell victim to a confrontation between the Israeli soldiers and international human rights activists on the Turkish ship.
Ankara later demanded that Israel issue an official apology, order an independent international investigation and pay compensation.
There was hope for the restoration of bilateral relations in December last year, when Turkey sent two aircrafts to help Israel in the fight against Israel's largest forest fire in the history of the country that claimed the lives of at least 41 people. However, later, Turkish officials said that Ankara will restore relations with Israel only after it brings a formal apology. But Tel Aviv has refused.