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FRANCE TODAY, ISRAEL TOMORROW?
Hurriyet
June 22 2012
Turkey
It was unusual for the Turkish Foreign Ministry to announce that it
believed Turkish-French relations could improve, following Francois
Hollande's victory in the first round of the French presidential
elections, after they hit rock bottom under Nicholas Sarkozy.
It could be interpreted as an intervention in another country's
domestic politics, but it also demonstrated the level of discontent
felt in Erdogan's Ankara against Sarkozy's Paris. From his blockage
in the opening of new negotiation chapters between Turkey and the
European Union, to his use of Turkey in domestic politics - especially
regarding the Armenian genocide claims - and doing that for the last
seven years, Sarkozy was obviously not Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan's favorite partner in European politics.
After being elected as French President, Hollande's Socialist Party
won the parliamentary elections too, and that was an obvious relief
for Ankara. Not only because of the clear messages he had given to
Turkey beforehand that he was not going to use the Armenian issue
like his rival Sarkozy did, but also because of his clear messages to
the EU - particularly to German Chancellor Angela Merkel - indicating
that there was a new actor on stage and that the European political
equation had to be renewed.
This has proved right in the EU's new visa regime, which has been
moderated in parallel with Hollande's suggestions. At last, Ankara
was hopeful on the outcome of its own visa exemption demands, which
have been in the deep freeze for years.
After a meeting between Erdogan and Hollande in Rio during the
Sustainable Development summit on June 20, Erdogan declared that
there was now a new page in Turkish-French relations. On June 21,
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on TV channel
CNNTurk that Ankara had ended economic measures against France that
were imposed following Sarkozy's playing with the genocide issue
ahead of the elections. Turkey also welcomes the visa exemption
possibilities brought by the EU Commission, and in return Ankara is
going to sign an agreement on the readmission of illegal refugees,
which the EU has been asking for from Turkey for some time. Welcoming
the EU's new visa regime, EU Minister Egemen BagıÅ~_ highlighted that
the move was a step closer for integration. It is also important that
Turkey saw this move before start of the six-month term presidency
of the Greek Cypriot government, which Turkey does not recognize.
It would not be too wrong to call the mood in Ankara regarding EU
relations as the "Hollande Spring."
But this surprise in Turkey's diplomacy may not be the only one. The
words of Shaul Mofaz, Israel's Deputy Prime Minister, were carefully
noted down in Ankara, when he said on June 19 that Israel needed to
come to terms with Turkey's "superpower status in the Middle East"
and mend ties for the good of both countries.
Turkey has already made it clear what is needed to improve relations
with Israel: An apology for the killing of nine of its citizens in
2010, on board the Mavi Marmara ship that tried to break the embargo
on the Palestinians in Gaza. If Mofaz is trying to express a change
in the mood of Israel regarding Turkey under the new government,
and if such a move is to come, then we might witness the opening a
new page in Turkish-Israeli relations too.
Hurriyet
June 22 2012
Turkey
It was unusual for the Turkish Foreign Ministry to announce that it
believed Turkish-French relations could improve, following Francois
Hollande's victory in the first round of the French presidential
elections, after they hit rock bottom under Nicholas Sarkozy.
It could be interpreted as an intervention in another country's
domestic politics, but it also demonstrated the level of discontent
felt in Erdogan's Ankara against Sarkozy's Paris. From his blockage
in the opening of new negotiation chapters between Turkey and the
European Union, to his use of Turkey in domestic politics - especially
regarding the Armenian genocide claims - and doing that for the last
seven years, Sarkozy was obviously not Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan's favorite partner in European politics.
After being elected as French President, Hollande's Socialist Party
won the parliamentary elections too, and that was an obvious relief
for Ankara. Not only because of the clear messages he had given to
Turkey beforehand that he was not going to use the Armenian issue
like his rival Sarkozy did, but also because of his clear messages to
the EU - particularly to German Chancellor Angela Merkel - indicating
that there was a new actor on stage and that the European political
equation had to be renewed.
This has proved right in the EU's new visa regime, which has been
moderated in parallel with Hollande's suggestions. At last, Ankara
was hopeful on the outcome of its own visa exemption demands, which
have been in the deep freeze for years.
After a meeting between Erdogan and Hollande in Rio during the
Sustainable Development summit on June 20, Erdogan declared that
there was now a new page in Turkish-French relations. On June 21,
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on TV channel
CNNTurk that Ankara had ended economic measures against France that
were imposed following Sarkozy's playing with the genocide issue
ahead of the elections. Turkey also welcomes the visa exemption
possibilities brought by the EU Commission, and in return Ankara is
going to sign an agreement on the readmission of illegal refugees,
which the EU has been asking for from Turkey for some time. Welcoming
the EU's new visa regime, EU Minister Egemen BagıÅ~_ highlighted that
the move was a step closer for integration. It is also important that
Turkey saw this move before start of the six-month term presidency
of the Greek Cypriot government, which Turkey does not recognize.
It would not be too wrong to call the mood in Ankara regarding EU
relations as the "Hollande Spring."
But this surprise in Turkey's diplomacy may not be the only one. The
words of Shaul Mofaz, Israel's Deputy Prime Minister, were carefully
noted down in Ankara, when he said on June 19 that Israel needed to
come to terms with Turkey's "superpower status in the Middle East"
and mend ties for the good of both countries.
Turkey has already made it clear what is needed to improve relations
with Israel: An apology for the killing of nine of its citizens in
2010, on board the Mavi Marmara ship that tried to break the embargo
on the Palestinians in Gaza. If Mofaz is trying to express a change
in the mood of Israel regarding Turkey under the new government,
and if such a move is to come, then we might witness the opening a
new page in Turkish-Israeli relations too.