Obama Urges Turkey, Israel to Repair Ties

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday called on Turkey and Israel to repair their ties strained by a crisis over a deadly 2010 flotilla raid.

"The president underscored his interest in seeing a resolution of that issue between those two countries who are both allies of ours, and encouraged them to work towards that end," said a top White House advisor said.

National Security Council European advisor, Liz Sherwood-Randall, added Obama had raised the issue of the efforts to "repair their relationship in the aftermath of the tragic flotilla incident of May 2010."

Washington regards Turkey as one of its most important allies and Obama has spent considerable time engaging Erdogan in his two-and-a-half years in office and paid a visit to Ankara and Istanbul in 2009.

In recent months, the Obama administration has been alarmed at the estrangement between Turkey and its closest Middle East ally Israel, over an Israeli raid on a flotilla bound for Gaza that killed nine Turks.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday urged Turkey to defuse tension and repair strategic ties with Israel.

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 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 Turkey has rejected the U.S. offer.

Earlier this month, Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and froze military ties and defense trade deals. Ties strained even further when Erdogan threatened to send warships to escort any Turkish vessels trying to reach Hamas-ruled Gaza.