Turkey's Foreign Minister said he wants to repair ties with Israel, damaged when Israeli troops killed eight Turks and a Turkish-US national amid clashes on a pro-Palestinian aid ship in May.

Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated that Israel must apologize for the deaths, which led Turkey to withdraw its ambassador, BBC reported.

"Turkish citizens have been killed in international waters, nothing can cover up this truth," he said. "We want to both preserve relations and defend our rights. If our friendship with Israel is to continue, the way for it is to apologize and offer compensation."

Israel, which insists the commandos fired in self-defense, said it was also seeking better relations with Ankara.

The ship, the Mavi Marmara, is due to return to Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday, December 26.

The two nations have had 15 years of good relations, including a number of military and trade pacts, and have held talks in Geneva recently to try to restore ties.

But the talks foundered, reportedly because Israel refused to apologize for the 31 May raid.