Comments on: Slipping in Turkey http://www.turkishnews.com/en/content/2009/11/24/slipping-in-turkey/ World Turkish Coalition Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:35:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: haluk http://www.turkishnews.com/en/content/2009/11/24/slipping-in-turkey/comment-page-1/#comment-37661 haluk Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:02:32 +0000 http://www.turkishforum.com.tr/en/content/?p=16181#comment-37661 Interview with Shimon Peres, President of Israel [...] Q. IS TURKISH PRIME MINISTER RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN LEADING HIS COUNTRY AWAY FROM PARTNERSHIP WITH ISRAEL AND TOWARD RADICAL ISLAM? A. Turkey is the only country in the world where a nondemocratic institution, the Army, was in charge of preserving democracy. And they did it. Now the role of the Army has changed, and the question is whether Erdogan will lead his Muslim population toward democracy or whether democratic forces will demand a more Islamist state. For a long time, Erdogan himself wanted a good relationship with Israel. But what happened? I'm trying to see this in a broader perspective. The Turkish leadership very much wanted to become a part of united Europe, and the Europeans dragged their feet, and there was a sense of disappointment that caused them to look for another domain where Turkey could play a role. Turkey also wanted to play a role between Syria and Israel, which was accepted by our former prime minister. And when you become a mediator, you leave your closeness to one side and go to the middle place between the two countries. So that, too, has had a certain effect. How far does Erdogan want to go in his push in different directions? I don't know. Q. SHOULD ISRAEL BE PROVIDING FRONT-LINE MILITARY TECHNOLOGY TO TURKEY WHEN ANKARA IS SEEKING CLOSER STRATEGIC TIES WITH SYRIA AND IRAN? A. We need to be very careful not to undermine a cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship built up over many years. Turkey is a very important nation in our region and a respected member of NATO. We need patience and to read the map correctly and not fall victim to momentary tensions between our two countries. I think it will be very hard for Turkey to jeopardize its world standing and discredit itself by becoming too actively aligned with the Iranian agenda. Iran is financing Hizbollah and sending arms to Hamas and to Hizbollah by way of Syria, and now they're trying to finance destabilizing forces in Latin America. [...] Source: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4387779&c=FEA&s=INT Interview with Shimon Peres, President of Israel
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Q. IS TURKISH PRIME MINISTER RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN LEADING HIS COUNTRY AWAY FROM PARTNERSHIP WITH ISRAEL AND TOWARD RADICAL ISLAM?
A. Turkey is the only country in the world where a nondemocratic institution, the Army, was in charge of preserving democracy. And they did it. Now the role of the Army has changed, and the question is whether Erdogan will lead his Muslim population toward democracy or whether democratic forces will demand a more Islamist state. For a long time, Erdogan himself wanted a good relationship with Israel. But what happened? I’m trying to see this in a broader perspective.

The Turkish leadership very much wanted to become a part of united Europe, and the Europeans dragged their feet, and there was a sense of disappointment that caused them to look for another domain where Turkey could play a role. Turkey also wanted to play a role between Syria and Israel, which was accepted by our former prime minister. And when you become a mediator, you leave your closeness to one side and go to the middle place between the two countries. So that, too, has had a certain effect. How far does Erdogan want to go in his push in different directions? I don’t know.
Q. SHOULD ISRAEL BE PROVIDING FRONT-LINE MILITARY TECHNOLOGY TO TURKEY WHEN ANKARA IS SEEKING CLOSER STRATEGIC TIES WITH SYRIA AND IRAN?
A. We need to be very careful not to undermine a cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship built up over many years. Turkey is a very important nation in our region and a respected member of NATO. We need patience and to read the map correctly and not fall victim to momentary tensions between our two countries.

I think it will be very hard for Turkey to jeopardize its world standing and discredit itself by becoming too actively aligned with the Iranian agenda. Iran is financing Hizbollah and sending arms to Hamas and to Hizbollah by way of Syria, and now they’re trying to finance destabilizing forces in Latin America.
[...]

Source: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4387779&c=FEA&s=INT

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