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ANKARA: No appointment for Edelman

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  • ANKARA: No appointment for Edelman

    Turkish Press
    Dec 8 2004

    No appointment for Edelman
    BYEGM: 12/8/2004
    BY ASLI AYDINTASBAS

    SABAH- There's been a serious change in Turkish-US relations and the
    atmosphere in Washington. Let's look at what Turkey might want in
    altering its 50-year 'strategic partnership' with the US. We can
    begin our analysis with the fact that for three months now, US
    Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman's request for an appointment with
    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has gone unanswered. This is
    completely unprecedented. Egeman Bagis, a foreign policy advisor to
    Erdogan, is in Washington, and another advisor, Cuneyt Zapsu, is also
    on the way there. State Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin just got back from
    a Stateside visit.

    Yesterday I talked to both Turkish and US officials about the
    strained state of relations. One high-ranking US official began by
    joking, 'We're happy to have united the right and left wings.'
    Anti-US feeling has become a common feeling among rightists,
    leftists, Islamist and nationalists. Over the weekend, some
    newspapers criticized Edelman for calling Fener Greek Patriarch
    Bartholomeos 'ecumenical.' The US official continued: 'Turkey is
    rapidly losing its friends in Washington. I don't know whether
    they're doing this on purpose or because they can't manage crises.'
    On its road to the EU, Ankara, on the other hand, is continuing its
    relations with the US as a 'cold marriage,' and wants Washington to
    keep off this road. US Secretary of State Colin Powell will ask his
    Turkish counterpart whether Ankara needs Washington's help for next
    week's pivotal EU summit. What the Americans have in mind is the
    telephone diplomacy made before the 1999 Helsinki summit. But Ankara
    is leaning towards saying, 'no, thanks.' The same US official said
    that Turkish-US relations aren't distant from Europe, and added 'The
    government struck a balance between us and the EU, but now if it's
    looking just to please France, that's something else. However
    Turkey's natural place in Europe is among countries resisting the
    Franco-German axis. Those countries have close relations with the
    Washington.' State Minister Sahin also had important meetings in the
    EU. 'Neither we nor the US has the right to destroy such a
    longstanding relationship,' he said.

    The same US official said, 'The Turks think we don't have domestic
    political problems, but there are three communities in Washington
    interested in relations with Turkey. Relations with the Jewish lobby
    are not good, and the US Greek community is disappointed about the
    'ecumenical' crisis. The last group is the Armenian lobby, which has
    its own line. The current atmosphere is a real nightmare for us'.
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