Yesterday’s incident might be regarded as climax of aggravated Israeli-Turkish relations, the expert in Turkish studies Ruben Melkonyan told a press conference on Tuesday, commenting on the May 31 attack on Turkish ships.

According to him, even before the incident Turkish-Israeli relations were strained. “There was a crisis in Israeli-Turkish relations, but yesterday’s attack even worsened the situation, which will affect bilateral relations for a long period of time,” Melkonyan said. He added that Turkey does its utmost to strengthen its positions in the Muslim world. “That is the reason for Ankara’s attempts to support the Islamic world’s interests. Turkey’s aspirations are part of the Neoosmanism strategy, the god father and supporter of which is the incumbent Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu,” he added.

Referring to the raid-deteriorated Israeli-Turkish relations, Melkonyan noted that Turkey’s tough statements on the withdrawal of its Ambassdor and the cancelation of bilateral military maneuvers will not lead to large-scale military operations. “Turkey will place the main emphasis on the diplomatic circles. It should be remembered that deep Turkish-Israeli ties have history of decades,” Melkonyan said. He stressed the tension between the two nations will be relieved in some time.

On May 31, Israeli troops stormed an international flotilla with humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, According to Israeli mass media, at least 19 people were killed during the military operation.