Israel says Turkey’s Erdogan is breaking agreements by blocking ports for trade

Israel’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.

“This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on X.

Katz said he instructed the foreign ministry to work to create alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Turkey had stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel, citing two Turkish officials.

The Turkish presidency, foreign and trade ministries were not immediately available for comment.

The two countries had a trade volume of $6.8 billion in 2023.

Turkey last month imposed trade restrictions on Israel over what it said was Israel’s refusal to allow Ankara to take part in aid air-drop operations for Gaza and its offensive on the enclave.

Asked about Turkey’s ongoing trade with Israel despite the harsh rhetoric from Ankara, President Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Turkey no longer continued “intense trade” with Israel, adding “that is done”. He did not indicate Ankara had cut off all trade with Israel, however.