US envoy: Israel and Türkiye could redraw region’s trade map

Tom Barrack, the US Ambassador to Ankara and President Trump’s Special Envoy for Syria, believes that despite current political tensions, the leadership of Israel and Türkiye still has a realistic path toward a substantive normalisation of relations.

His comments were published in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.

Barrack underscored that both Türkiye and Qatar played a crucial role in recent ceasefire and hostage-release talks due to their established channels of communication with the parties involved in the conflict.

He also pointed to Türkiye’s substantial and seasoned ground forces, along with Ankara’s ability to maintain dialogue with a broad range of regional actors, as factors that could help “cool the temperature” across the region.

At the same time, Barrack recognised that Israel’s mistrust of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains deep-rooted. However, he stressed that Ankara does not harbour hostile intentions toward Israel.

Although political strains persist, Barrack argued that a credible route to meaningful normalisation between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Erdoğan is still available.

“It just makes too much strategic sense,” he said. "Connecting the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Caspian, and the Mediterranean through Türkiye and Israel would transform regional commerce and reduce dependence on Iranian corridors," he noted, adding that “there is only one real obstacle, and that is Iran.”

By Tamilla Hasanova