TURKISH-ISRAELI RELATIONS DAMAGED

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.02.2009 16:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish-Israeli relations have suffered another
setback, Turkish retired diplomats said.

"The Prime Minister has made a very serious mistake. Turkey is paying
the price for the government’s pro-Hamas approach. Tomorrow the cost
could be more serious. In foreign policy, one needs to think three
times and speak once," main opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP) deputy chairman Onur Oymen said.

"You cannot handle foreign policy by talking big or as if you are
running a coffee house. One who starts up in anger sits down with
a loss. The government would do a better job if it listened to what
we say instead of listening to our tapped telephone conversations,"
he said.

Turkey’s former ambassador to the United States, Faruk Logoglu said the
latest incident should be considered an "aftershock" of Davos. He said
the remarks by the Israeli general, who holds a responsible position,
would have an impact that cast a shadow in Turkish-Israeli relations
but noted it would not be correct to claim they entirely reflected
the views of Israel.

"It was clear from the very beginning that Davos would have
consequences and today we see Turkey being excluded from the ongoing
process of cease-fire between Hamas and Israel and negative signals
are coming from the Israeli lobby in the United States," said veteran
Turkish diplomat, Inal Batu. "Turkey may have won sympathy in Gaza
or on some Arab streets but this is not enough," he said, Hurriyet
Daily News reports.