Obama rebuked the Turkish prime minister for belligerent anti-Israel rhetoric
by JTA
10/12/09
President Obama rebuked the Turkish prime minister for belligerent
anti-Israel rhetoric, saying it was harming Turkey’s profile.
`In the president’s meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan yesterday, the
president told the prime minister that his anti-Israel rhetoric was
eroding his nation’s ability to effectively lead on the issue as it
had in the past,’ said a statement relayed Tuesday to JTA by a U.S.
official. `The president pressed the prime minister to make rebuilding
Turkey’s ties with Israel a priority.’
Obama and Tayyip Erdogan met Monday to discuss ties between the two
nations. Turkey is seeking to reinforce its ties with the United
States as it is increasingly isolated from Europe because of tensions
over its candidacy for membership in the European Union and the
Islamist tilt of Erdogan’s government.
Erdogan has heightened criticism of Israel more than any other Turkish
leader since ties were established in the early 1950s, accusing Israel
of war crimes during last winter’s Gaza war, and defending Iran’s
nuclear program.
In remarks after the meeting, Erdogan said he hoped to resume Turkey’s
role as a peace broker in the region; that role has been eroded in
part because of tattered Turkey-Israel ties. He also suggested he was
more conciliatory about containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
`We have also had opportunity to discuss what we can do jointly in the
region with regard to nuclear programs,’ Erdogan said. `We as Turkey
stand ready to do whatever we can to ensure a diplomatic solution to
the nuclear issue in our region. And we stand ready as Turkey to do
whatever we can do with respect to relations between Israel and the
Palestinians, and Israel and Syria, because I do believe that, first
and foremost, the United States, too, has important responsibility in
trying to achieve global peace.’
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
