* Erdogan demands Israel 'clean the blood' after raid
* Senior Turkish, Israeli Foreign Ministry officials meet
(Updates with Foreign Ministry meeting)
ISTANBUL, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Turkey still expects Israel to apologise and "clean the blood" spilled when nine Turkish activists were killed by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound ship, its prime minister said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's made the comments as senior foreign ministry officials from both countries met in Switzerland to discuss ways of repairing the relationship.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Erdogan on Friday to thank him for sending fire-fighting planes to help battle forest fires in northern Israel that killed 41 people.
It was the first conversation between the two men since Israeli soldiers stormed the Mavi Marmara on May 31. The boat that was part of a Turkish-led convoy bringing supplies to blockaded Gaza.
Relations between the once close allies have been tense since.
On Friday, Netanyahu said Turkey's gesture was an opportunity to improve ties. But Erdogan said the help fighting the fires was purely humanitarian.
"No one can expect us to be silent, to abandon justice until the blood spilled in the Mediterranean is cleaned," Erdogan said in comments broadcast live by CNN Turk.
"Now some are coming out and saying, 'Let's begin a new phase.' Before that, our demands must be met...Our nine brothers martyred on the Mavi Marmara must be accounted for. First an apology must be made and compensation must be paid."
Israeli officials have said they will not apologise.
An Israeli official told Reuters that Joseph Ciechanover, a senior diplomat, was sent to Geneva to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu following the phone conversation between Netanyahu and Erdogan.
"They met to see how the sides might improve relations following Turkey's assistance in fighting the forest fire," said the official, who declined to be named.
He did not have any details on the outcome of the meeting.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed to Reuters that the meeting between Sinirlioglu and "a high-ranking Israeli official" occurred in Geneva but could not elaborate further.
It was the first face-to-face meeting between senior diplomats since Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met Israeli Trade Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer on July 1.
Israel had enjoyed close military and commercial ties with Muslim but secular Turkey since the 1990s.
Netanyahu's government in recent years has accused Erdogan, a devout Muslim, of turning away from Western allies and embracing Iran and other Islamic states.
Erdogan criticised Israeli conduct during strikes on Gaza in late 2008 and early 2009, which followed Turkish efforts to mediate between Israel and Syria in failed peace talks. (Reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem; editing by Myra MacDonald)
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