Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz secretly visited Turkey in January to meet with Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin ahead of a possible visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to the country, Times of Israel reported.

Ushpiz met with Kalyn to prepare for the Duke's visit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that his Israeli counterpart would visit Turkey in mid-March. On Sunday, the two leaders spoke by phone ahead of a possible face-to-face meeting, but the Israeli side did not confirm the date.

According to the Times of Israel, Ushpiz's visit to Turkey would be the first visit by a senior Israeli official in nearly six years.

However, the Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the visit.