(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has poured cold water on mounting expectations of a nearing d?tente between his country and Israel, telling reporters that reconciliation was contingent on Israel lifting its blockade on the Gaza Strip. "About the negotiations, we have not reached any agreement," he emphasized, according to Israel's Channel 10. "As long as the siege on Gaza isn't lifted, it won't happen. The siege must be lifted, and that must be part of the protocol, signed and agreed upon." Erdogan also said that talks would continue over the amount of damages to be paid by Israel to families of the nine Turks killed in the botched May 2010 naval commandeering operation on the Mavi Marmara ship. The incident triggered an international outcry and exacerbated already strained relations between Turkey and Israel into a full-blown diplomatic crisis, with Ankara expelling the Israeli ambassador and demanding a formal apology and compensation. Talks on compensation eventually began in March 2013 after Israel extended a formal apology to Turkey in a breakthrough brokered by US President Barack Obama during a landmark visit to Israe
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