ERDOGAN MUST NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA TO RESTORE HIS REPUTATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.02.2009 01:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s showdown
in Davos inevitably hurt bilateral relations between Turkey and
Israel. High-level officials from both sides have made harsh
statements," said Ali Bulac in his article "Fury of the Lobbies".
He mentions that to some degree, these statements are
understandable. However, when they cross the line and the parties’
attitudes and stance become harsher, the criticisms turn into
serious problems, causing unpleasant results. According to Bulac, a
recent column by David L. Phillips from The Boston Globe is one such
example. "If Erdogan wants to restore his reputation as a statesman
and a reliable partner of the West, Turkey must repair its ties with
Israel, normalize relations with Armenia, and welcome ships from
Cyprus. Becoming an advocate for Hamas is a mistake. Turkey’s future
lies with the West. The Islamist street leads away from Europe to
the Middle East," he writes.
"A country like Turkey is not afraid of such threats; it won’t consider
the threats referred to by Phillips. In fact, Erdogan’s response to
Peres in Davos should not be exaggerated. Other Arab countries have
done the same. Muammar Qaddafi described the Arab leaders as cowards
for their failure to do anything vis-a-vis the civilian massacres
in Gaza. The Algerian parliament adopted a resolution making all
diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel a crime. We also know
a lot about the initiatives of the emir of Qatar under the roof of
the UN Security Council. Iran, while displaying a balanced reaction,
never wavered in its position vis-a-vis Israel," Bulac states.
The analyst considers that Jewish lobbies in the US falsely believe
that they are strong enough to make their agenda accepted. "When it
comes to the Jewish lobbies’ threats with respect to the Armenian
issue, this is not something Turkey should be worried about. There
will be no difference between the endorsement of the claims by the US
Congress and the approval of the same allegations by parliaments of
other countries. Besides, the Jewish lobbies will be most affected by
this because they will lose the monopolistic power over the "genocide"
issue," worldbulletin.net reports.