Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday said that during his recent trip to the United States the Turks wanted him to meet with their foreign minister and ambassador in Washington.

Barak spoke at the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee explaining that it was clear to him that the meeting was aimed at presenting claims against Israel and therefore did not agree to holding such a meeting.

Addressing the recent meeting between Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Barak said that the meeting was bad timing.

Barak said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked him about a possible meeting between Ben-Eliezer and the Turkish foreign minister and Barak responded saying it was not a suitable time for such a meeting.

Speaking about relations with Turkey, Barak said Israel is not looking to create a conflict but it is not possible to ignore the depth and nature of the trends that are being seen there.

Barak added that there has been a big change in Turkish policy recently. The fact that these changes happened in Turkey caused the results of the flotilla raid.

The Defense Minister also warned that aditional flotillas that were planned by Lebanon and Iran may still set out on their way to the Gaza Strip.

A feud between Barak and Ben-Eliezer escalated to harsh tones at Labor’s ministerial meeting on Sunday when Ben-Eliezer threatened to “skewer” Barak’s spokesman.

Ben-Eliezer was upset that after he had told Barak in advance about his meeting last week with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the defense minister wished him good luck, Barak’s spokesman Barak Seri briefed reporters that his boss opposed the meeting.