WILLIAM HALE: ZERO-PROBLEM POLICY AS CHALLENGING AS RIDING TWO HORSES
PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 13:39 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey’s current policy of zero problems with
neighbors is better than its highly defensive and securitized foreign
policy of the past, but this new policy puts Ankara in the position
of a circus rider who is riding two horses at the same time, a Turkish
expert said.
"I think it is extremely difficult for Turkey at the moment to have
good relations with Syria, Israel and Palestine," said Professor
William Hale from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS),
University of London.
He recalled that there were times in the past, too, when
Turkish-Israeli relations were not good – even worse than today. "For
example, in the 1970s, there were sharp reactions from the Turkish
government to the annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel. At one
point, Turkey even broke off diplomatic relations with Israel, but
now there is no intention of breaking relations. Relations with Israel
are too developed to allow such a thing to happen. You have Hamas and
a divided Palestine on the one side, and the rightist government in
Israel on the other. That makes, for the time being, two horses going
in opposite directions," he said, Today’s Zaman reported.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
