Cyprus-Forum.com

[Lit]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... AD9B8MU680

Turkey freezes Israel out of air force drill

(AP) – 1 hour ago

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says Ankara has canceled an annual air force drill in Turkey this week because of Israeli participation.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since Israel's winter war in Gaza.

Muslim Turkey was especially vocal in denouncing Israeli conduct during the war.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the drill was delayed "indefinitely" because of Turkey's decision ... "not to allow the Israeli air force to take part."

The Israeli military says the exercise was to have also included, U.S., Italian and NATO forces.

Other defense officials say Turkey canceled the maneuver after the U.S. said it wouldn't take part if Israel was excluded.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter with the media.

[Lit]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8301321.stm

Turkey-Israel in air exercise row

Turkey has postponed a joint air force drill after opposing Israel's participation, the Israeli army says.

The regular exercise to improve international aerial cooperation was to involve several Nato air forces.

But Israel's exclusion led to the United States and Italy refusing to take part in the exercise either.

Relations between Israel and Turkey have cooled since Ankara criticised Israel's offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in December and January.

Turkey and Israel have previously enjoyed close military cooperation and conduct joint naval exercises.

The two countries share intelligence and have strong trade ties, following a military cooperation agreement in 1996.

Turkey is one of the few Muslim countries to have relations with Israel, but these have been under strain since the Islamist-rooted AK Party was elected to power in 2002.

In January, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan publicly criticised Israel over the Gaza campaign and walked out on Israeli President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

[Lit]

While Israel kept a low official profile Sunday on Turkey's cancellation of a joint military exercise, defense officials said advanced weapons sales to Turkey would now be reviewed, and a leading academic expert on Israeli-Turkish relations suggested ending support for Turkey on the Armenian genocide issue in Washington if the deterioration in ties continues.

According to defense officials, several Turkish requests are currently under consideration by the Defense Ministry's Foreign Defense Assistance and Defense Export Organization (SIBAT). These will now need to be reviewed due to the change in the diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and Ankara.

"This is a country that appears to be distancing itself from the West and there could be repercussions," one official said, adding that in the 1970s, Israel sold Iran military equipment up until the Islamic Revolution.

The officials would not reveal which new military platforms Turkey had requested.

Full article here:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite? ... 2FShowFull

[Free Spirit]

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says Ankara has canceled an annual air force drill in Turkey this week because of Israeli participation.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since Israel's winter war in Gaza.

Muslim Turkey was especially vocal in denouncing Israeli conduct during the war..

War? that wasn't a war! It was a short campaign to stop the Philistines from firing rockets into Israel (home of Gods chosen people).

[Lit]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 05,00.html

Turkey crisis: Concern that arms deals may be cancelled

Cancellation of joint military exercise brings crisis between Israel and Turkey to a head. Military industries say potential exports to Turkey getting smaller from month to month

Aryeh Egozi

Israel did not need to wait until its joint military exercise with NATO and Turkey was cancelled in order to understand that the honeymoon between Turkey's and Israel's defense establishment is over – particularly when it comes to military procurement in Israel.


Israel's military industries said Sunday that they are concerned about the future of arms deals and joint efforts slated to develop specialized weapons systems.

In unofficial talks, the military industries have said that the military export potential to Turkey is getting smaller and smaller every month. "The Americans and the Europeans have identified the change and are currently investing massive marketing efforts in Turkey," said an IMI source on Sunday.


Surprisingly, Italy has become the largest military supplier to Turkey. After the Turks failed large-scale procurement of American helicopters, the Italians launched a marketing campaign and won last year a massive deal supplying military choppers that could rake in billions of dollars.



This deal is a good example by which to measure Israel's status as a military supplier to Turkey.



Companies such as Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israel Aircraft Industries, and Elbit produce a number of the most advanced helicopter systems in the world. Until now, the Turks have not made contact to acquire Israeli helicopter systems parallel to the ones being supplied by the Italians.


"If additional proof of the change occurring in Turkey were needed, this is one of them," said a military industry source Sunday.


Up until a few years ago, the military industries treated Turkey like a huge potential client. However, now everything has changed. "They had a huge appetite, and apparently large resources to match," said the source Sunday.


Deterioration started in the form of a few comments made by Turkish government leaders during Operation Cast Lead. But some people in Israel saw the statements merely as Turkish Muslim leaders' lip service to their brothers in Gaza. Israel was well aware that the Turkish military, the protector of the constitution, was the one to set the tone of military cooperation between the two countries. In the past, the Turkish military tipped the scales in favor of Israeli industries.

[Lit]

Israel's deterioration of ties with Turkey in recent days has raised a few eyebrows in western capitals. In contrast, Syria ties with Ankara seem to be blossoming:

_ _ _ _ _

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php? ... 2009-10-13

Tuesday, October 13, 2009
FULYA ÖZERKAN
ALEPPO, GAZİANTEP – Hürriyet Daily News
Ministers from Turkey and Syria meet in Aleppo and then cross the border together into Gaziantep in a symbolic move to express the direction of relations between the two countries. ‘This partnership sets a standard and brings with it a message to the region. We hope this understanding will spread throughout the region,’ says Davutoğlu

From the brink of war 10 years ago, Turkey and Syria are now sailing toward a strategic partnership. Ministers from both sides met in Aleppo and then traveled visa-free to Gaziantep on Tuesday and made an open invitation expressing that the partnership is not an alliance against others countries and is open to all.

“Our slogan is about a common destiny, common history and common future. And we’ll build the future together,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Muallem. He repeated the message in Arabic, which was applauded by the Syrians in the room.

“Today is bayram for the peoples of Turkey and Syria. We are celebrating a third bayram, which is the removal of visa procedures, in addition to Ramadan and the Feast of Sacrifice,” he said.

Turkey and Syria announced plans to establish a high-level strategic cooperation council to deepen their relations in every field from security to energy. Davutoğlu and al-Muallem co-chaired the first foreign ministerial meeting of the council to be followed at the prime ministerial level in early December when Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Damascus.

“This partnership sets a standard and brings with it a message to the region. We hope this understanding will spread throughout the region,” said Davutoğlu.

For his part, al-Muallem said nothing should be sought behind his country’s partnership with Turkey. “Our call to friendly countries is open,” he said.

Turkey established a similar mechanism with Iraq under the government’s policy of zero problems and maximum cooperation with neighbors, but Ankara’s steps elevated fears among NATO members that EU aspirant Turkey was drifting farther from European values.

“Turkey’s relations with Syria are complementary to its foreign policy. If we join the EU, Syria will be a neighbor to the EU, and if the EU lets Turkey in, its doors will open up to the Middle East,” said Davutoğlu.

Later in the day, Davutoglu and al-Muallem signed an agreement to exempt mutual visas and the two ministers crossed the border in a symbolic move to remove the barrier at the Öncüpınar Border Gate, a narrow gate and an area surrounded by minefields.

Delay of military exercise with Israel

Syria welcomed the Turkish decision to delay the international part of a military exercise including Israel.

Turkey recently canceled a joint military exercise on its territory with Israel, the United States and Italy. Many people consider the decision a continuation of Turkey’s reaction to Israel’s Gaza war last year.

“We are pleased with Turkey’s decision, reminiscent of Turkey’s approach to the Israeli-led attacks in Gaza,” said al-Muallem, adding that Israel has continued its offensive policies and rejected Turkey’s peace efforts and initiatives.

Davutoğlu reminded the press that the exercise was a national drill open to international participants. “Everyone should act with common sense and in a way that does not harm peace and stability,” Davutoğlu said, without naming Israel. He said the human tragedy unfolding in Gaza should come to an end and Islamic holy places in East Jerusalem including al-Aqsa Mosque should be respected.

“If Turkey’s sensitivities are taken into consideration an atmosphere of peace will emerge. We are ready to do our best for peace,” said Davutoğlu.

Turkey sponsored five rounds of indirect negotiations between Israel and Syria but the talks were suspended over Israeli war in Gaza early this year. Davutoğlu said the Israeli attack dealt a serious blow to peace in the Middle East.

“We are always ready [to mediate peace talks] but there is need for strong political will that must be demonstrated by the parties concerned,” he said.

Al-Muallem said, “We trust the role played by Turkey as a mediator for peace in the region.”

De-mining the common border

Clearing landmines from the Turkish-Syrian border is controversial. The Turkish Parliament passed a controversial law last May about de-mining, but appealed to opposition at the country’s top Constitutional Court.

Davutoglu said once the ongoing technical work is over, the fields will open to agriculture after the mines are cleared away.

“That is important in economic terms, but it also has a symbolic meaning. From now on, we want neither mines, walls, wires, nor border gates. We want complete integration,” he said.

PKK problem

The PKK problem was once a point of contention that brought the two neighbors to the edge of a war in 1999. However, in the new term Damascus extended support to Turkey’s fight against the PKK, with Syrian President Bashar Assad saying before a visit to Istanbul last month that his country was ready to welcome the return of Syrian members of the PKK.

“Syria considers the PKK a terrorist organization,” said al-Muallem. “Turkey’s security is part of Syria’s security.”

Armenia protocols

The Syrian minister welcomed the protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia on Saturday to normalize their troubled relations. Turkish-Armenian ties closely concern Damascus due to its Armenian population.

“I have spoken with the Armenian citizens living in Syria and saw that they are also happy. Turkish-Armenian relations are in the interest of Syria,” said al-Muallem.

Snapshots from Aleppo-Gaziantep

• Ten Turkish ministers attended the strategic council meeting. Diplomats said the meetings took place not in the format of the two separate Cabinets’ convention but under one umbrella.

• Turkish ministers accompanied members of the press, as well as opposition deputies and think tanks.

• In Aleppo, ministers from both sides made a joint meeting described as “energetic and efficient beginning” by the diplomats and in Gaziantep concrete projects were discussed.

• The Turkish delegation was welcomed at the border by Turkish citizens living in Syria waving flags.

• The government aimed to transform economic cooperation with Syria into economic integration. The objective is to attain $5 billion in mutual trade volume, which was $1.8 billion in 2008.

• Cyprus was among the issues on the agenda. Diplomats said Turkey’s proposal to Syria to let northern Cyprus open an office in Damascus was welcomed by the Syrian officials.

• Higher Education Board, or YÖK, head Ziya Özcan suggested joint high education license programs between Turkish and Syrian universities.

• Turkey offered to build a dam in Syria and name it the “Friendship Dam.”

[Lit]

Israel's deterioration of ties with Turkey in recent days has raised a few eyebrows in western capitals. In contrast, Syria ties with Ankara seem to be blossoming:

Syria says to hold military exercises with Turkey

Reuters - Zerin Elci, Ibon Villelabeitia - ‎2 hours ago‎

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCr ... SN13205852

* Turkey says nixing exercises with Israel not political

* Syria welcomes Ankara's decision to exclude Israel

* U.S. objects to Turkey's last-minute decision (Adds U.S. comment, paragraphs 6-7)

By Zerin Elci

ALEPPO, Syria, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Syria said on Tuesday it would hold military exercises with Turkey, shortly after Turkey canceled maneuvers with Israel.

Ankara's decision, which was commended by Syria, revived fears of cooler relations between Israel and NATO member Turkey.

"We held our first joint land military exercise (with Turkey) last spring. And today we have agreed to do a more comprehensive, a bigger one," said Syrian Defense Minister Ali Habib, speaking at a news conference.

Turkey, a secular Muslim country, has been a key ally of Israel, but ties have been strained over Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's harsh criticism of Israel's three-week offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in December and January.

Both Turkey and Israel on Monday denied the cancellation of air force exercises scheduled for this week posed any threat to their long-standing bilateral ties and strategic interests.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department on Tuesday objected to Turkey's last-minute decision to exclude Israel from the exercise.

"We think it's inappropriate for any nation to be removed from an exercise like this at the last minute," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

But Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem commended Ankara canceling of the exercises, in comments made during a high-level meeting of Turkish and Syrian ministers.

"We extremely welcome that decision. This decision is based on Turkey's approach towards Israel and reflects the way Turkey regards the Israeli attack in Gaza," Moualem told reporters in the Syrian city of Aleppo, where 10 Turkish minsters met 15 Syrian ministers to discuss energy and electricity projects.

European Union candidate Turkey, under Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK party, has deepened its ties and influence in the Middle East, expanding Ankara's foreign policy beyond its traditional Western-oriented focus and strengthening ties with countries such as Syria and Iran.

Turkey denied any political motive behind the decision to "postpone" the exercise with Israel and called on Israel to display "common sense" in their statements.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday repeated Ankara's position that it had not singled out Israel as a political punishment but had decided to call off the international stage of the military exercises, which would have also included the United States, Italy and NATO.

But he told reporters in Aleppo: "Our sensitivity on Gaza, East Jerusalem and al-Aqsa mosque are there. If these sensitivities are taken into consideration the peace process would resume in the region."

A senior government source told Reuters Israel had been excluded because of the Gaza offensive, saying it would have been inappropriate to carry out military exercises right now.

Once on the brink of war over Kurdish separatist rebels, Turkey and Syria have strengthened their commercial ties and have signed a bilateral visa-free agreement.

Israel, which has enjoyed close military cooperation with Turkey as well as bilateral trade worth nearly $3 billion, has urged Ankara to consider cooling ties with Palestinian Islamists Hamas and with Iran. Erdogan is due to visit Iran this month. (Writing by Ibon Villelabeitia; additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington, editing by Anthony Boadle)

[Lit]

Turkey points to Israel to deflect from itself

October 17, 10:51 AM Progressive Geopolitics Examiner Andrew E. Mathis

Turkey has been enormously critical of Israel's military policy in Gaza since last year's war, and the most recent development is that Turkish television has aired a television program on the conflict in which a fictional Israeli soldier is seen shooting a Palestinian baby. Andrew E. Mathis

It's a charming bit of teledrama I'm sure. But what are the Turks trying to do in being so critical of Israel? Perhaps it amounts to their trying, in essence, to deflect attention away from its own dismal human rights record.

The chief area in which the Turkish government has committed the grossest human rights offenses has ben in its ongoing conflict with the Kurdish minority. Since 1978, the Turks have been in armed conflict with a secessionist group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). There's a strong analogy to be drawn between Israel's fight with Hamas and Turkey's fight with the PKK. Both the PKK and Hamas are recognized by the international community at large to be terrorist organizations. For its part, the PKK has engaged in bombings, killings of officials, etc.

The Turkish response has been, according to Human Rights Watch, to engage in torture, house raids, extrajudicial killings, and firing on crowds without discrimination for who is a combatant and who is not.

Does that ring familiarly at all? Sound like the things with which Israel has been accused in its conflict with the Palestinians?

Then there's the issue of Cyprus. Turkey invaded the island nation, which has a mixed Greek and Turkish population, in 1974, and conducted a de facto military occupation for 30 years, creating a puppet state of Northern Cyprus in the process. A two-state solution has been proposed for Cyprus since 2004, but the Greek population has rejected it, opting instead for a reunified nation.

Does any of that ring familiar?

Finally, there is the general human rights record. In 2007, fully 2,830 abuse reports were filed with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Turkey, resulting in 331 judgments against Turkey. Add that to a total of 1,200 judgments in the previous 12 years.

In short, Turkey is in no position to criticize Israel about anything. They should recall the adage about glass houses and, rather than try to increase their clout in the Muslim world with their rhetoric against Israel, fix their own problems at home with regard to human rights.

http://www.examiner.com/x-14373--Progre ... rom-itself

[Lit]

It's a charming bit of teledrama I'm sure. But what are the Turks trying to do in being so critical of Israel? Perhaps it amounts to their trying, in essence, to deflect attention away from its own dismal human rights record.

Im sure our Jewish American friend, Mr. Andrew E. Mathis, will be receiving a lot of emails for this critical article he wrote on Turkey. ATAA's President, Mr. Ergun Kirlikovalı, is going to have his work cut out for him if Israeli-Turkish relations continue to sour.

[Linichka]

"In short, Turkey is in no position to criticize Israel about anything. They should recall the adage about glass houses and, rather than try to increase their clout in the Muslim world with their rhetoric against Israel, fix their own problems at home with regard to human rights. "

Well said, Lit. I couldn't agree more. Most of us are sorry to see Israeli-Turkish relations take such an ugly turn....but, their choice.