Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu on Sunday condemned the plan proposed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in which Israel should punish Turkey by supporting the terrorist organization PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party).

"No one will be able to blackmail us," said Davutoglu during a press conference in Ankara. "We hope that Israel's denial [of supporting the PKK] will also be accompanied by actions."

Open gallery view Turkey’s Ahmet Davutoglu Credit: AP

Davutoglu said that the PKK has turned into a tool for anyone who wants to harm Turkey. "Every time someone wants to bother Turkey he uses the PKK," he said. "It is important that our Kurdish brothers pay attention to this."

According to a report in Yedioth Ahronoth, Lieberman assembled a team to discuss a possible retaliation against Turkey. According to the report, the team recommended to Lieberman that Israel should cooperate with the PKK and even consider arming it with weapons. Another suggestion was to offer assistance to the Armenians and file UN reports against Turkey for a violation of the rights of minorities in the country.

However, sources in the Foreign Ministry who were involved in the discussion told Haaretz that the recommendations made were the opposite of what was published in the media Friday. "There were various ideas," a senior foreign ministry official said, "but the foreign ministry's main recommendation to Lieberman following that discussion was to take steps to prevent a further escalation with Turkey.