The Australian
March 19, 2010 Friday
1 – All-round Country Edition

Genocide vote may destabilise region

BY Catherine Philp

BEWARE the law of unintended consequences. The US congressional
panel’s resolution on Armenian genocide may right a historical wrong
but, in doing so, it may also jeopardise a peaceful future in the
Middle East.

Furious with Israel’s clumsy anti-diplomacy and humiliated by its
failure to make the EU grade, Turkey is running out of reasons to play
ball with the West.

The congressional vote and a similar one by the Swedish parliament
have helped to drive another wedge between Turkey and its Western
allies and are tilting it dangerously towards Iran.

Only now that ambassadors are being recalled and threats are being
made to expel the Armenian population are many taking notice of the
scale of Turkey’s southeastward tilt.

In London on Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
publicly dismissed suspicions of an Iranian nuclear weapons program as
fiction.

That caught the headlines, but just as worrying and much quieter was
the weekend phone call between Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his
Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during which Mr Gul called
for deepening bilateral relations and pledged his support to the
regime.

Mr Gul told Mr Ahmadinejad that the “two countries would defend each
other’s positions at international forums and emphasised the
importance of tightening the relations between them and of consulting
on regional and security matters”, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported.

This certainly affects the UN Security Council, of which Turkey is a
non-permanent member. It cannot veto a resolution on sanctions against
Iran, on which the US is working to build consensus. But it can side
with Iran and give cover to China, the one country most likely to
veto.

The Obama administration warned Turkey yesterday that it would pay the
price if it went against the majority over Iran. It is doubtful,
however, whether Turkey’s ears are turned in the right direction to
listen.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress