April 19, 2004 - 20:13 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Israel's political circles viewed the refusal of official Ankara to receive Israeli minister of industry and trade Ehud Olmert, who was going to pay an official visit to Turkey, as a serious crisis in the Turkish-Israeli relations. As reported by Israeli media, the Turkish authorities explained the refusal by the fact that "Turkish officials are very busy solving the Cyprian problems". According to the sources, "the Turkish-Israeli strategic relationship considerably deteriorated since Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has stated as "terrorist act" the killing of Ahmed Yasin, the spiritual leader of Hamas movement.