‘TIES CANNOT BE NORMALIZED UNDER CURRENT ISRAELI GOV’T’

Today’s Zaman
May 5 2010
Turkey

Turkish government sources have stated that the normalization of ties
between Turkey and Israel will be quite difficult under the current
Benjamin Netanyahu government.

As long as the current Israeli government stays in power, it seems
very unlikely that relations between Turkey and Israel can normalize,
said a government source speaking to Today’s Zaman.

The Turkish government has been trying to put relations back on track,
the same source claimed, stating, however, that the Israeli government
has not made any such effort to this end.

Turkish-Israeli relations have further soured due to a recent vote
by the Knesset giving the first go-ahead for a discussion on Armenian
genocide claims. Turkey, which denies that the killings of Armenians
in 1915 under the Ottoman Turks did not constitute genocide, warned
Israel about the probable negative consequences if the issue proceeds
any further.

Israel’s Gaza offensive in December 2008 followed by its hard-line
stance hardening the Middle East peace talks has continued to anger
Turkey and prompted Ankara to slow down not only political ties but
also military ties with Israel. Muslim Turkey and Jewish Israel have
long enjoyed close military and defense procurement cooperation.

Despite strained ties, dialogue between the two countries continues as
Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu, undersecretary at the Turkish Foreign
Ministry, visited Israel over the weekend for routine consultations.

Turkish diplomatic sources referring to Sinirlioglu’s visit to Israel
stated that though relations have been cool at the ministerial level,
Turkey has been trying to keep political relations at a certain level.

According to the same sources, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s
hard-line policies draw strong criticism not only from Turkey but
also from its main ally the US as well as from Arab nations.

However, Ankara is also aware of the fact that if it wants to mediate
between Israel and Syria to help ease their conflict, it has to
have good relations with both countries and both parties should
trust Ankara.

Israel to be excluded from Anatolian Eagle It is highly possible that
Turkey will not allow Israel to take part in this year’s Anatolian
Eagle exercises scheduled to be held between June 7 and 18 at the
Central Anatolian town of Konya.

The second multinational Anatolian Eagle exercises this year are
supposed to take place between Oct. 11 and 22. The Turkish Armed Forces
(TSK) last week held the national leg of the Anatolian Eagle exercises.

Turkey excluded Israel last October from the Anatolian Eagle exercises
at the last minute, prompting Italy and the US to withdraw from those
maneuvers in response.

Turkish diplomatic sources state that Israel is not expected to be
allowed to take part in this year’s Anatolian Eagle exercises. "Turkey
does not want visible military cooperation with Israel," said the
same sources.

However, both Turkey and Israel continue their defense procurement
cooperation. Turkey’s Aselsan and Israel’s IMI have jointly proposed
the sale of US-made M 60 tanks to Colombia.

According to a story published by UK-based Jane’s Defence Weekly
on April 30, the Colombian government and army are studying a range
of solutions jointly offered by the IMI and Aselsan to fulfill the
country’s requirement for a new main battle tank. Israel has recently
completed the upgrade of 177 of Turkey’s US-made main battle tanks.