TURKISH PM’S ACCUSATION OF ISRAEL WILL NOT SCORE POINTS FOR TURKEY, NEITHER AFFECT ANKARA’S INTEGRATION TO EU

Trend
Feb 5 2009
Azerbaijan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s emotional speech against
Israel’s hostilities in Gaza and his following leaving the room in
Davos did not boost Turkey’s standing either in the region, Europe,
or the U.S.. But that will not affect Turkey’s integration in the
European Union, experts say.

"I do not think that this behavior will be seen a good light in
Europe," European expert for Balkan countries policies, Dr. James
Ker-Lindsay wrote Trend News via e-mail.

During his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,
last week Turkish Prime Minister was indignant that he was given
less time to speak than the Israeli President and accused Israel
of aggression and killing civilians during a three-week military
operation in the Gaza Strip, which officially ended on Jan. 18. Upon
completion of his speech, Erdogan left the room.

This is not the first time that Turkish Prime expressed his sharp views
and left the room. Emotional accusations against Israel could be heard
as early as 2004, when Erdogan condemned Israel for assassination of
the ideological leader of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

While on an official visit to Brussels in January, Erdogan responded
in a rather abrupt manner to a Cyprus MP who had said Turkish troops
are invaders.

Emotionality of the Turkish leader was perceived with frowns in
Europe. It will adversely affect Turkey’s position in the Middle East.

Lindsey believes Erdogan already has a reputation for letting his
temper get the better of him.

"Of course, tensions do emerge between European leaders and sometimes
these get very heated. However, such outbursts are usually kept behind
closed doors," wrote London School of Economics and Political Science
(LSE) leading expert for Balkan countries policies James Ker-Lindsay.

Turkey has always been a key player in the Middle East and in the
peace process in particular, Fabrizio Tassinari, European expert on
Mediterranean region, said.

Precisely because it combines its traditional ties with the Arab-Muslim
world with very close political and economic relations with Israel,
Tassinari, Associate Fellow of Centre for European Policy Studies
(CEPS) Brussels, told TrendNews via e-mail.

After this incident, it is unlikely that Israel will trust Turkey and
support its mediation in settling Middle East conflict, Lindsey said.

Turkey will prove itself to be more powerful in the region if it could
really mediate a final resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh issue,
Michael Emerson, European expert on EU relations with Turkey and
Cyprus, said.

For the moment Erdogan’s action is just words, Emerson, Programme
Director for Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) Brussels,
told TrendNews via e-mail.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries appeared in 1988
due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia has
occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani lands including the Nagorno-Karabakh
region and its seven surrounding districts. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group (Russia, France and USA) have held peaceful negotiations
over 15 years. Over the recent period, Turkey has been actively making
an initiative of mediation in the conflict.

I don’t think it will do much harm to Turkey’s EU integration at this
stage – but only because there appears to be no integration to speak
of at the moment, Lindsey said.

Turkish political scientist Deniz Altınbas, however, considers that
the last events will not create problems in the process of Turkey’s
entrance into the European Union. She said that Erdogan’s speech
strengthened his position in the Middle East.

"Moreover, strengthening Turkey as regional player increases its
chances for entrance into the European Union," Altınbas, expert of
Eurasian center for strategic studies, told TrendNews in a telephone
conversation from Ankara.

The talks on entrance of Ankara into the European Union started in
2005. According to the forecasts of experts, it will be able to become
full-right member of the EU for 10-15 years.
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