ANKARA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement Wednesday that Israel has sent an apology letter to Turkey for its treatment of the Turkish ambassador during a diplomatic meeting seen as a public insult to the envoy.

    In the letter, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon apologized for his manner when he summoned Turkish Ambassador in Tel Aviv, Ahmet Oguz Celikkol on Monday to express Israel's discontent about a Turkish TV series, the statement said.

    Ayalon made Celikkol sit on a sofa lower than his own chair and had no Turkish flags displayed on the table during their meeting, an act considered as a humiliation to Turkey.

    Ayalon said in the letter he had no intention to insult Celikkol and expressed his respect to the people of Turkey, according to the statement.

    Disputes between Turkey and Israel must be handled through diplomatic channels based on mutual respect, Ayalon was quoted as saying in the letter.

    On Tuesday, Ayalon issued a statement saying his behavior had been inappropriate. However, Turkish President Abdullah Gul still demanded a formal apology on Wednesday, threatening to recall Celikkol the next morning if Israel did not resolve the row by Wednesday evening.

    Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday Israel respects Turkey and its people but expects Ankara's respect in return, vowing not to tolerate any anti-Semitic positions.

    Israel says the Turkish TV series "The Valley of The Wolves," which depicted Israeli security forces kidnapping children and shooting old men, contained anti-Israel messages.

    Relations between Turkey and Israel began to sour in December 2008 when Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip, which ended in January 2009 leaving some 1,400 Palestinians killed.

    In a rare move to protest the 22-day operation, Erdogan stormed out of a debate with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January 2009.

    Turkey banned Israel from participating in a NATO air force drill in October and later refused to censure a fictional television program that features Israelis killing Palestinians.