‘DISAGREEMENTS OUTWEIGH AGREEMENTS IN US-TURKISH TIES,’ SAYS DIPLOMAT

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 15 2009

Philip Gordon, assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department’s
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

The growing number of disagreements over global and regional
affairs between Turkey and the United States signals a "bumpy road"
to Washington, D.C., for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
in early December.

The deterioration in ties between the two allies was obvious during
Philip Gordon’s trip to Ankara last week. At a press conference held
here, the assistant secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian
Affairs hinted that "there were more points of disagreement than of
agreement with Turkey."

As Gordon put it, the diplomatic agenda shared by the two NATO allies
is "vast," ranging from Iran’s nuclear program to the Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement and from Sudan to energy-security projects. Erdogan and
U.S. President Barack Obama will review all of these issues during
their December meeting, Gordon said. The positions of the two countries
on some important international issues can be summarized as follows:

Iran

Iran is the issue on which the two countries’ views differ most.

Underestimating the concerns of the West over Iran’s controversial
nuclear program, Erdogan has argued that these concerns were just
"gossip." He also declared that as a non-permanent member of the U.N.

Security Council, Turkey would not endorse potential sanctions
against Iran.

In his very diplomatic answer on this topic, Gordon tried to emphasize
that the two countries were still working on the issue and seeking
ways to move forward. But, he said, in an indirect message to the
Turkish leadership: "It’s not a good thing to make business at the
moment with Iran. Iran needs to be assured that it has to cooperate
with the international community; otherwise it will face consequences."

Turkey and Iran signed multibillion-dollar energy agreements last week
despite strong opposition from Washington. Gordon said Thursday that
"Turkey’s engagement with its neighbors was neither surprising nor
concerning," but also noted Washington’s expectation that Turkey
would share U.S. concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.

On the very recent idea of storing Iran’s enriched uranium in Turkey,
Gordon said "it was a good one to explore," adding that Turkey would
be a safe and secure location for such a purpose.

Sudan

Although Turkey avoided a visit to Istanbul from indicted Sudanese
President Omar al-Bashir through a last-minute interruption, Erdogan’s
denial of Darfur atrocities by saying "a Muslim can never commit
genocide" caused international reaction. When asked his thoughts
on Erdogan’s statement, Gordon, in another diplomatic twist, said,
"We have been clear with what’s going on out there" and called on
the international community to act together.

Karabakh pre-conditionality

It was the United States that most supported the reconciliation process
between Turkey and Armenia. Reiterating Washington’s backing of the
process, Gordon said: "We’d like to see the move forward for the
ratification of the protocols and implementation… and the opening
of the border."

But for Gordon, Turkey’s move to put the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict before the ratification of the protocols
is not correct. "We do not link the two issues," he said. "Turkey and
Armenia moving forward is a very positive development and should not
be linked with anything else."

Turkey-Israel

The cooling in ties between Turkey and Israel is another concern for
the United States. "Americans watch closely Turkey’s relations with
its neighbors," Gordon said, adding that the U.S. believes that the
Turkish government’s zero-problems-with-neighbors policy should also
include Israel.

Energy security

Turkey’s recent deals with Russia, facilitating Moscow’s target of
realizing the South Stream project to block the U.S.-backed Nabucco
natural-gas pipeline, are seen with concern in the West.

Afghanistan

According to Gordon, the ideal example of Turkey-U.S. cooperation is
seen in Afghanistan. "We value Turkey’s very positive contributions,"
he said. "There are some issues [on which] we have disagreements, but
in Afghanistan we have similar points. It is a global area [where]
we are working very closely." When asked about troop contributions
from Turkey, however, Gordon said, "All countries should do more with
regard to Afghanistan."

Changing axis

Gordon said the current debate about whether or not Turkey’s axis
has been changing from West to East is an "exaggeration." Adding
that Turkey still has significant relations with the West, he said,
"We’re not always saying same things, but that’s why we have an open
dialogue with our Turkish friends."