Turkey’s tilt away from the West
Israel was recently excluded from joint air force exercises in Turkish airspace causing in turn for the U.S. to back out of it too. Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon called Ankara’s step “a blow to NATO, European and American interests.” The U.S. is increasingly concerned that strained relations between Ankara and Jerusalem threaten American interests in the region. Tensions between the two states may hinder U.S. efforts to create an international alliance to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Turkey however is withdrawing from the West’s sphere of influence into Syria and Iran’s orbit. This explains Turkey’s stance towards Israel.
The day the joint exercise was due to start, Turkey signed a civil and defence co-operation deal with Syria, which included an agreement to abolish mutual entry visa requirements. Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has praised Turkey’s decision to exclude Israel from the Anatolian Eagle joint military exercise, which was scheduled to be held last week. Foreign affairs analyst Soli Ozel stated, “Turkey’s influence in the region is expanding rapidly and it no longer feels it needs Israel as much as it did in the past.” Turkey’s tilt away from the West is reflected in its rapid growth of trade to the Arab world. Turkey’s total trade with the Middle East and North Africa has grown from 11.4 per cent of total volume in 2002 to 16.2 per cent today. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently flew to Baghdad to sign more than 40 memorandums of understanding, including one to export Iraqi natural gas to Turkey. Suat Kiniklioglu, deputy chairman of external affairs for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) noted that, “At an international conference in Sharm el-Sheikh this September, a number of countries, including Turkey, pledged sizeable donations” for the reconstruction of Gaza.
Turkey and Israel had previously been united by their mutual mistrust of Iran and Syria, which sheltered Kurdish rebels until 1998. To that end, Israel had provided Turkey with intelligence and software in its war against Kurdish separatism. This strong association had been downgraded during Israel’s military Operation Cast Lead against Hamas earlier this year in Gaza when Turkey harshly condemned Israel. It was thought that the AKP which is an Islamic led party was the reason for Turkey’s reorientation towards the Islamic world. In the aftermath of the cancellation of military exercises Turkey’s state-run television channel, TRT, screened the first episode of a new series, Separation. Set in the Gaza Strip the programme was replete with graphic scenes of Israeli soldiers shooting children and newborn babies dead. Kadri Gursel, a columnist has noted has that Turkish-Israeli relations would have been slowly downgraded even if a secular-minded government was in power in Ankara. “The difference is that the AKP, for ideological reasons, has pushed through that change more brutally.”
