Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey must accept that it needs Israel.

The statement came as the two countries seek to normalize their relations.

NATO member Turkey was a key regional ally of Israel until the two countries fell out over the storming by Israeli commandos in 2010 of a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, bound for Gaza.

"Israel is in need of a country like Turkey in the region," Erdogan said in remarks to Turkish reporters published in leading dailies Saturday.

"And we too must accept that we need Israel. This is a reality in the region," saidErdogan.

"If mutual steps are implemented based on sincerity, then normalisation will follow."

Analysts have suggested that Turkey’s rapprochement with Israel has been accelerated by the need for Ankara to make up for its crisis in ties with Moscow after the shooting down of a Russian warplane.

Last month it was reported that a breakthrough was reached in the reconciliation talks between Turkey and Israel, but Jerusalem and Ankara made it clear that the reports were premature.