(AFP) – 6 hours ago
NEW YORK — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton here on Monday urged Turkey to defuse tension and repair strategic ties with Israel as Washington values them both as allies, US officials said.
Washington has expressed mounting concern about the bitter row between Turkey and Israel over a May 2010 Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla heading to the Gaza Strip that left nine Turks dead.
In her meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in New York, Clinton "made clear that this is not a time when we need more tension, more volatility in the region," a senior US official said on condition of anonymity.
The chief US diplomat and Davutoglu met before US President Barack Obama holds talks Tuesday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as they gather for the UN General Assembly opening Wednesday.
The United States has offered to mediate an end to the Israeli-Turkish crisis -- which analysts said could also harm ties between NATO allies Washington and Ankara -- but Davutoglu has rejected the US offer.
Washington stressed that the countries are "two close friends and allies of the United States, and urged them to keep the door open," another US State Department official told reporters.
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