Posted on 09/10/2001 6:31:54 PM PDT by veronica
Turkish FM: We want to improve ties with Israel
By Metehan Demir
ANKARA (September 11) - Turkey will not change its policy regarding Israel just because Arab countries want it to, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said yesterday. He added that Ankara is determined to improve its ties with Israel.
Cem told The Jerusalem Post that Turkish-Israeli ties are crucial for the region and do not threaten any third party. He said that Turkey attaches special importance to its ties with Israel in order to contribute to the stability of the region. He pointed out that Turkey will not make any concessions in its ties with Israel, while trying to pursue a balanced policy with Arab states.
"Ankara cannot downgrade its relations with Israel just because the Arabs ask it to," he said.
"At the same time, we cannot change our policy toward the Arabs on a request from Israel." Touching on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Cem again offered Turkey's services as a mediator, and urged both sides to end the violence.
"Turkey, with its strong historical background, is fully determined to expend massive efforts to reach a solution between Israel and the Palestinians," Cem said. "We are the only country which is the closest to both sides at the same time. We will continue to use this advantage by speeding up shuttle diplomacy. We call on both sides to stop the bloodshed as soon as possible." Cem said Israel and the Palestinians should not wait for the violence to end completely before pursuing peace talks, saying that "simultaneously, both sides should come together at the same table to talk on sensitive issues." Urging Israel and the Palestinians to implement the Mitchell Report, Cem also said that Israel should lift economic restrictions imposed on the Palestinians, because these will not contribute to stability.
The Saudis seem to have an opposite opinion.
"Turkey was strategically indispensable for the West during the Cold War era. Turkey guarded NATO's southern flank as the only member having common borders with the former Soviet Union.
This made Turkey a key front line state for forty years in the West's strategy of containment of Communism with crucial duties guarding the Straits linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Turkey provides NATO's second largest military force (after the U.S.), the largest defense capability among the European allies.
During this period, Turkey participated actively in the allied effort in Korea, providing one of the four largest military forces and sacrificing 731 men.
The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of Communism's military and ideological threat to the West, led to debates over whether Turkey's role in Western security maintained its importance.
When the Gulf crisis broke out, despite her sensitive geographic location bordering immediately on Iraq, Turkey promptly took the side of her allies. In response to UN Resolutions, Turkey immediately shut down the Iraqi oil pipeline (which still remains closed for general commercial transport) and honored the UN trade embargo. As a result, Turkey has suffered some $30 billion in losses. This is by far the greatest economic loss suffered by any ally which continuous to grow each day that the pipeline is closed and the embargo remains in effect.
Turkey's willingness to allow her bases to be used for allied air operations was essential to the coalition effort. This usage continues today in a modified form to provide surveillance of the UN mandated no-fly zone and to ensure the security of Northern Iraq."
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