JERUSALEM - Israel and Turkey have decided to restore full diplomatic ties and will return ambassadors to each other's country following a steady improvement in relations, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's office said on Wednesday.

"Upgrading relations will contribute to deepening ties between the two peoples, expanding economic, trade, and cultural ties, and strengthening regional stability," said a statement issued following a conversation between Lapid and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A visit to Turkey by Israeli President Isaac Herzog in March, followed by visits by both foreign ministers, helped warm relations.

"It was decided to once again upgrade the level of the relations between the two countries to that of full diplomatic ties and to return ambassadors and consuls general from the two countries," the statement said.

(Reporting by James Mackenzie; editing by Henriette Chacar and Mark Heinrich)