FM Davutoglu on Israeli plans to mend ties: "An apology is an apology"

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday dismissed arguments over the wording of an expected apology from Israel to Turkey, stressing that such arguments serve to obscure Turkey's very clear conditions for normalizing relations with Israel. "An apology is an apology. There is no classification of an apology," Davutoglu was quoted as saying by Turkish daily Yeni Safak yesterday. Asked whether Turkey expects Israel to offer an apology to the Turkish people or the state, he said, "What we mean is offering an apology to the Turkish people and the state. We offered fire-fighting assistance (for a recent fire in Haifa) out of humanitarian motives. A positive atmosphere has been born, and there is political will for solidifying this."