Israeli and Turkish generals still talking amid row

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's military chief said on Tuesday he had been in contact with his Turkish counterpart in an effort to maintain relations in the midst of a diplomatic row over the deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza aid ship.

Turkey responded to Israel's killing of nine Turkish activists on board the ship on May 31 by withdrawing its ambassador, suspending joint defense exercises and closing Turkish airspace to Israeli military planes.

Turkey's foreign minister was quoted on Monday as threatening to cut ties with Israel altogether unless the Jewish state apologizes for the actions of its troops, something the Israeli government has firmly ruled out.

Briefing Israeli lawmakers behind closed doors, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi said he had been "personally in touch" with the Turkish chief of staff since the high seas interception, which Israel defended as part of its blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Ashkenazi said he thought there was a limit to Turkey's change of political direction because as a NATO member it was dependent on Western military hardware, according to a parliamentary official who briefed reporters.

On a military level, Ashkenazi thought Israeli-Turkish ties could be maintained as before. "Relations are important, and we must maintain them during turbulent times," the commander said.

"Contact with the military is continuing despite the fact that some exercises have been canceled," he added. "I gained the impression that on the military level there is no problem and nothing to prevent continued meetings."

Turkey's powerful military has long been the self-appointed guardian of the secular constitution, leading to tension with the Islamist-rooted government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

"I do not know where Erdogan's path is leading them," Ashkenazi said.

Israel is a major defense exporter to Turkey, with annual sales of around $2.5 billion, an Israeli defense official said.

In a $180-million deal, Turkey ordered 10 surveillance drones from Israel. Six were delivered before the ship crisis, the official said, with the rest to follow "in coming weeks."

As a security precaution, Israel withdrew its defense advisers from Turkey last month, relocating the training of Turkish drone operators to Israeli bases. The official said he believed the advisers would return to Turkey soon.

(Writing by Dan Williams and Ori Lewis; Editing by Jon Hemming)