Turkey calls charges turning from West 'dirty propaganda'
AFP
Date: 6/10/2010
ISTANBUL (AFP) – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered reassurance on Thursday that his country is not turning away from the West in the wake of its vote against UN sanctions on Iran, calling such charges "dirty propaganda".
Speaking at a Turkish–Arab forum, Erdogan pointed to French investments in Syria and other Arab countries, adding: "But when it comes to Turkey investing in Arab countries or vice versa, a dirty propaganda is trying to impede this process."
"Those who say that Turkey has broken away from the West are the intermediaries of an ill–intentioned propaganda," he said.
"We are open to all parts of the world. We are not open to one and closed to another."
Many in Turkey and the West are concerned that NATO's sole mainly Muslim member is sliding away, pointing at a severe crisis with Israel over its bloody raid on aid ships last week and Turkey's "no" vote on fresh UN Security Council sanctions against Iran regarding its nuclear programme Wednesday.
Erdogan's Islamist–rooted government has sought a stronger Turkish role in the Middle East, notably improving ties with Muslim countries, among them former foes Syria and Iran.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday the European Union's refusal to offer Turkey a swift accession process has partly caused Ankara's foreign policy shift and the deterioration in its relations with Israel.
"I think we have to think long and hard about why" policies have changed in Turkey and "about what we might be able to do to counter them and make the stronger linkages with the West more apparently of interest and value to Turkey's leaders," said Gates.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said he agreed with Gates, urging the EU to speed up Turkey's EU accession talks, in remarks to Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine daily on Thursday.
"I believe we Europeans have made a mistake in pushing Turkey to the east, instead of pulling it towards us," he said.
Negotiations over the accession of Turkey have stalled, with France and Germany blocking its path. This has provoked regular anger from Ankara, which accuses the Europeans of going back on their word following the start of entry negotiations in 2005.
Doubts among Western countries about Turkey's shifting foreign policy began in 2009 when Erdogan strongly criticised Israel for its deadly military campaign in Gaza.
Concerns over growing rapprochement between Turkey and its Middle Eastern neighbours and Iran grew following the Israeli raid on an aid expedition bound for Gaza on May 31 in which nine Turks were killed.
After recalling its ambassador from Tel Aviv, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said relations with Israel would "never be the same".
Erdogan has stepped up the rhetoric against Israel as tens of thousands of Turks have taken to the streets of Istanbul each day to vent against Israel and praise Gaza's Hamas rulers.
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