Poland and Israel have taken a step toward normalizing diplomatic relations, Polish President Andrzej Duda said as the Israeli ambassador officially presented his credentials in Warsaw, AP reported.

Duda wrote on Twitter that he and Israeli President Isaac Herzog "agreed that it was time to return to normal relations." He said the "first step" was taken Tuesday when Israeli Ambassador Yacov Livne formally presented his credentials.

Israel expects Poland to appoint an ambassador as well, and Duda said he hopes it will happen "soon."

Relations between the two countries have soured in recent years over disagreements over Polish laws that were seen as whitewashing the deeds of some Poles during the Holocaust and prohibiting demands for restitution of confiscated property by Holocaust victims and their relatives.

Israel recalled its ambassador in the fall of 2020, and Poland's ambassador to Israel was ordered to end his mission early in the summer of 2021.

Relations improved after Israeli-Polish cooperation on the Ukrainian refugee crisis after the war in Ukraine.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, whose late father was a Holocaust survivor, thanked Poland for its help in rescuing Jewish refugees from Ukraine.