Barak in Turkey to repair ties

Israel's defence minister has held talks with senior Turkish officials in Ankara as part of efforts to mend strained ties between the two nations. Ehud Barak met Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, for closed-door talks in the capital on Sunday, after a visit to the tomb of Turkey's secularist founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Israeli officials said the visit was aimed at "warming" bilateral relations. "The Israeli-Turkey alliance is of mutual strategic importance," the Reuters news agency quoted an aide to Barak as saying. Barak later met Vecdi Gonuk, his Turkish counterpart, for talks on a nearly $180m arms deal. Turkish officials are currently in Israel to test unmanned drone aircraft that Israeli companies have manufactured for Turkey's army. The project has been long delayed over technical problems and political tensions.