TURKEY PUSHED INTO INTERNATIONAL ISOLATION

Hurriyet
Jan 27 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – Another criticism to Prime Minister Erdogan’s harsh
words toward Israel comes from a former ambassador who argues that
the government’s pro-Hamas stance pushes Turkey into international
isolation and damages the country’s mediation potential

Criticizing Israel and projecting a pro-Hamas stance is pushing
Turkey into isolation in the international arena, Turkey’s former
ambassador to Washington said in an interview with daily Milliyet
published yesterday.

Stating that defending the Palestinian people and defending Hamas
was not the same thing, Logoglu said being closer to Hamas would mean
losing the role of mediator between Hamas and Fatah. "If Turkey was
able to preserve its previous distance to Hamas and El Fetih it would
be better for everyone. But right now Turkey is situated right next
to Hamas and against Israel and Fatah," he noted.

Logoglu said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had failed to keep
a balance in his criticism of Israel and Turkey’s role as mediator in
the Middle East had been damaged, although not destroyed. Furthermore,
Erdogan’s statements led to disappointment within Jewish lobby groups,
he said.

Hamas not political party

"The Jewish lobby is the strongest in the United States and the only
one supporting Turkey. Therefore, the letter of disappointment sent
to Erdogan is of great importance in terms of highlighting the future
of ties," Logoglu said.

When asked about Prime Minister Erdogan’s statement that Hamas was
a democratically elected government, Logoglu said he did not think
Hamas was a political party. "A political party seeks to reach its
goals through political means. Hamas on the other hand is a party
and a terrorist organization," he said.

Commenting on remarks that Turkish foreign policy had taken a new
course under the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Logoglu said
this was nothing new. "The policy of zero problem with neighbors
(voiced by the prime minister’s adviser Ahmet Davutoglu) is not new
in Turkey. What’s more, all the problems, including the Cyprus issue,
the Aegean problem and the problems with Armenia, remain unsolved,"
he said.