JERUSALEM, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- In an effort to appease the recent diplomatic row between Israel and Turkey, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon sent an apology letter Wednesday evening to Ankara's ambassador in Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, overhis improper behavior during the two persons' meeting on Monday.
"I had no intention to humiliate you personally and apologize for the way the demarche was handled and perceived. Please convey this to the Turkish people for whom we have great respect," local news service Ynet quoted Ayalon as writing in the letter.
The letter is expected to be passed to Ankara by the Turkish ambassador.
Shortly earlier, Israeli Prime Minister's Office issued a statement, confirming Ayalon's apology letter.
The letter was coordinated with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Foreign Minister Avidgor Lieberman, the statement said, adding that Israel "hopes this brings the affair to an end."
However, the statement noted that Netanyahu backed the protest Ayalon has made during his meeting with Celikkol.
Ayalon called Celikkol to a parliament office on Monday, to express Israeli discontentment over a recent Turkish TV drama which portrays Israeli intelligence agent as baby-kidnaper. Duringthe meeting, Ayalon was caught by camera to urge the photographers to pay attention that he and his assistants were sitting in higher chairs than the Turkish ambassador, which is widely seen as an intentional humiliation to the Turkish ambassador.
The Deputy Foreign Minister issued a short statement Tuesday night, saying "in the future I will clarify my position in a diplomatically acceptable manner." But Ayalon insisted in the statement that his protest "remains valid."
The seeming apology statement did not appease the fumes of Ankara. Turkish President Abdullah Gul said earlier Wednesday that Turkey will recall its ambassador to Israel if the Jewish state does not issue an official apology.
"If they don't make up for us by this evening, the ambassador will return on the first flight tomorrow," Gul was quoted as saying by the semi-official Anatolia news agency.
The recent diplomatic row added a new weight on the already-strained bilateral relations due to Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter. The Turkish government strongly condemned the offensive, and Turkish military in October banned Israeli air force to join a planned international air force exercise in Turkey reportedly due to Ankara's opposition to Israeli operation in Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is scheduled to travel to Ankara next week as another effort of amending the relations, which had been on the up and up for more than a decade before the Gaza conflict.
