Livni met with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and the Secretary General of the National Security Council Yigit Alpogan on Monday after her paying tribute to the founder of modern Turkey Ataturk during a visit to his mausoleum.

Speaking at a press conference after her meeting with Gul, Livni said that bilateral relations between Turkey and Israel were perfect. She added that they did not want to punish the Palestinians for voting the Palestinian group Hamas to power in February’s elections. The visiting minister also said that she and Gul had discussed Ankara’s providing humanitarian aid to Palestine, which required Israel’s consent. One other topic covered in the meeting was the growing concern over the tension about Iran and nuclear weapons.

The visit to the Turkish capital is Livni’s first trip abroad as Israel’s Foreign Minister.