Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 29 2009
BABACAN SAYS NO SHIFT IN TURKISH POSITION
Turkey yesterday stood firmly behind the policy it has pursued
throughout the Gaza crisis and said it would do the same if Israel
relaunched an operation into Hamas controlled Gaza.
"We will say the same if Israel does the same. There is no change in
our position, there is no shift," Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said in
a televised interview in Davos.
The Turkish government has come under heavy criticism for its strong
rhetoric against Israel during the latest Gaza crisis and has been
accused of siding with the Islamic group Hamas.
"We are at an equal distance from all Palestinian groups," Babacan
told the private NTV television. Babacans previous remarks that Hamas
must make a choice between being an armed organization or a political
group led to a perception that the government had begun moving toward
a more balanced approach.
"There cannot be an armed solution," repeated Babacan. "This is valid
for both Palestinians and Israelis. Diplomacy and dialogue must be the
main instruments."
Babacan went on to say that the harsh criticism leveled at the Israeli
policies by the government was natural. "We showed a reaction against
these wrongful policies," he said, adding Turkey did the same when a
war broke out between Russia and Georgia last summer.
"On the fourth day of the (Caucasus) war we, together with the prime
minister, went to Russia and met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin for hours. Just as we said no to war, we have said the same
(regarding the Israeli-Palestinian violence)," the foreign minister
said.
"Who gained in the end of the conflict (in Gaza)?" he asked. "Is Hamas
eradicated? Who controls Gaza?" He added Hamas must continue its path
as a political movement.
Asked if his statements had not come too late, Babacan said: "Why is
Turkey a mediator? Because it is trusted by all parties Our stance was
not favored by some in the short run. There was a game and some
remained silent Just as we tell Israel, we tell the Palestinians to
resort to political mechanisms at the negotiating table, not to
violence."
Babacan said the governments criticism could lead to unease among the
Israelis but stressed that without Turkey, Israels presence in the
region would not be easy.
[HH] No planned meeting with Peres
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoethan said yesterday that he had no
scheduled bilateral meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres,
except for their presence at a Middle East panel in Davos.
"There is no planned meeting (with the Israeli president)," he told
reporters at the airport before departure. "Such panels usually last
between 45 to 60 minutes and I will express my opinion in a 10 minute
time frame."
Erdoethan said Turkey always sought to contribute to peace in the
Middle East and said the country would never take steps that would
overshadow peace. The presence of the two leaders at the same panel
will mark the first encounter since Erdoethans severe criticism of
Israeli policies in Gaza that caused shock in Tel-Aviv.
The prime minister said he would hold talks with the leaders from
different countries, including Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the World
Economic Forum. He did not rule out a possible meeting with Armenian
Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian.
"There can be a meeting, there is no obstacle," he said. Asked if the
government was planning to make an opening toward Yerevan before April
24 the day of commemoration of Armenian deaths at the hands of Ottoman
Empire during World War I Erdoethan said they were two separate
issues.
"No thunderstorm will break on April 24. We have made sincere efforts
since we came to power to normalize ties with Armenia," said
Erdoethan. He added Turkey had started flights to Yerevan, allowed
close to 40,000 Armenians to illegally work in Turkey and helped
restore the Armenian Akdamar Church in eastern Anatolia.
"These are all gestures," he said. Erdoethan implied the agenda of the
Armenian diaspora was different and was not shared by the Yerevan
administration.
For his part, Babacan said he met with his Armenian counterpart,
Edward Nalbandian on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum and
progress was made in negotiations with Yerevan.
Pointing to the Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform, a
proposal Turkey came up with in the wake of the Russia-Georgia war
last summer, Erdoethan said technical negotiations were already under
way and in the near future the format for talks would be raised to the
ministerial level.
Officials from the foreign ministries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Russia and Georgia are expected to meet in Istanbul this week for the
second five-party discussion of its kind on the regional security
platform, the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review earlier
reported. The first was held in December on the sidelines of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meeting in
Helsinki.