Middle East - AP
Israelis Seek Stronger Ties With Turkey
Date: Wed, Jul 14, 2004
By LOUIS MEIXLER, Associated Press Writer
ANKARA, Turkey - Israeli Vice Premier Ehud Olmert met with Turkish leaders Wednesday, hoping to smooth relations after Turkey's prime minister accused Israel of state terrorism against the Palestinians.
Olmert's visit comes at a time when there are suggestions Turkey's government may be trying to distance itself from Israel, possibly to boost relations with its Arab neighbors or please Turkish voters, who increasingly are alienated by Israel's tactics against their fellow Muslim Palestinians.
Promoting friendly ties with overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey is crucial for Israel, which faces isolation in the region. Turkey is a key trading partner and the two regional powers have had close military ties for years.
Olmert met with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.
The Israeli minister said he had a "friendly, sincere and serious discussion" with Gul.
"Gul repeated again the commitment of Turkey to carry on the relations with Israel on that friendly basis which characterized the relations in the past," Olmert said.
Israeli officials soon will visit Turkey to "continue the dialogue that we started today," Olmert said.
Gul did not comment on the relations after the meeting.
Many analysts say Turkey may be reassessing relations that in the past were so cozy that Israeli pilots trained over central Turkey.
"The groundwork of the Turkish-Israeli relationship as it stands in Turkey is eroding," said Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "It's too early to be alarmist, but I would say that the relationship is under a serious challenge."
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's governing Justice and Development Party has roots in Turkey's Islamic movement and many of the party faithful are critical of the close ties with Israel.
There also is strong support for the Palestinians among the Turkish public.
Erdogan left on vacation Tuesday and did not meet with Olmert. Turkish officials insisted the move was not a snub but was due to scheduling conflicts.
Turkish leaders also are wary of reports of Israeli involvement in northern Iraq (news - web sites), a neighboring region whose stability Turkey regards as vital to its security.
Some are concerned that Israel may favor an unstable, weak and divided Iraq for its own security reasons.
The deteriorating atmosphere has become such a concern that President Bush (news - web sites) stressed the importance of the Israeli-Turkish relationship in a recent meeting with Sezer, a diplomat familiar with the discussion said.
However, there also are strong proponents of ties with Israel.
Turkey looks toward Israel for trade and technology, and more than 300,000 Israeli tourists visit Turkey every year. Turkey's powerful and staunchly secular generals see the relationship as evidence of their country's pro-Western orientation.
In May, Erdogan was asked in an interview with Israel's Haaretz newspaper whether he considered Israel's actions against the Palestinians "state terrorism."
"How else can you interpret it?" he responded.
In an address to members of his Justice and Development Party, Erdogan said, "We have no problem with the Israeli people. But the things done by their government are regretfully escalating anti-Semitism," the Milliyet newspaper reported.
Turkish officials have said repeatedly that trade and military ties have not been affected and the harsh comments were the remarks of a concerned friend.
Olmert put the relations in a positive light during his visit to Ankara.
"We cannot assess policy by just one statement," Olmert said when asked on CNN-Turk television about Erdogan's comments about state terrorism. "We are happy about our relationship ... Turkish-Israeli relations are continuous, stable and will continue to grow."
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