A MODEL PARTNERSHIP
By Ferai Tinc

Turkish Press
Dec 18 2009

HURRIYET- Analyses of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to
the US earlier this month continue to come in. Ian Lesser has been an
influential figure in US foreign policy since the 1990s. He focuses
on the Middle East, Turkey and international security at the German
Marshall Fund. In an article about Erdogan’s visit, Lesser makes
interesting conjectures about the future of Turkish-US relations.

‘Both sides are likely to have come away convinced that some
potentially difficult issues have been managed,’ he wrote. ‘Yet,
the visit did little to bridge substantial differences in perception
and approach on key issues, above all, Iran, the Palestinian issue,
and the complex of disputes in the Caucasus.’

‘Model partnership’ is a concept developed to replace the US’ post-9/11
‘model country’ idea under its Greater Middle East Initiative. The
idea that Turkey is a model for Muslim countries led to much debate
and was rejected by many. In contrast, the model partnership concept
has won widespread approval, as Erdogan showed by his references to
it in Washington. On the concept, Lesser wrote, ‘Presumably, it is
meant to suggest that the range and character of cooperation, rather
than the nature of the Turkish system itself, is the real measure of
why Turkey matters.’ He added, ‘It might also suggest a more flexible
standard of cooperation than the harder-edged notion of "strategic"
partnership.’ The model partnership will be determined by Turkey’s
cooperation with Washington on regional issues.

It will also be tested when Turkey faces certain hurdles next year,
including new sanctions on Iran, the Palestinian issue, and relations
with Armenia.

Lesser warned that the last issue might cause friction between
Washington and Ankara. He wrote, ‘The (Obama) administration pressed
Turkey to complete the process of normalization envisioned in recent
Turkish-Armenian accords. But the ratification of these accords by the
Turkish Parliament is hardly assured, and Ankara is inclined to link
their implementation to movement on the long-running Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute. Washington, strongly convinced of the wider regional value
of an open border between Turkey and Armenia, prefers to decouple
these issues. Failure to implement the accords could easily spell new
friction in Turkish-American relations, and the Erdogan visit appears
to have produced no new commitments on this score.’ So Washington
places more importance on the Armenian initiative than the government’s
democratic initiative. Turkey is going through a difficult time, both
inside and out. Actually, these two have never been separate. I’m not
saying this because I’m pessimistic, but in order to wake up the Alices
who bury their heads in the Wonderland that they create in their minds.