TURKEY ‘BLOCKED’ ISRAELI NATO STEPS
BUDAPEST /PRAGUE
A Turkish military officer takes a picture of a German military vehicle
carrying equipment for NATO Patriot missiles at the Mediterranean
port of Iskenderun in Hatay province January 21, 2013.
REUTERS photo
Turkey blocked North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) initiatives
taken toward the inclusion of Israel in the organization, Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Feb. 5 to the reporters
during his flight to Budapest.
Erdogan was speaking on the possibility of cultural differences as
the cause of the European Union’s five-decade delay, when he said
it was possible that the union was “hesitant because the members
will not be able to do everything they want when Turkey gets in,”
likening the situation to that of NATO.
“Are we not in NATO with these countries?” Erdogan asked, recalling
that Turkey is the only country in the pact with a Muslim population.
“We, as Turkey, would stop wrong steps [in NATO]. Thus, we saw such
steps toward Israel’s inclusion in NATO. We prevented that,” Erdogan
said. “We have our own red lines. For us, to be involved in NATO with
Israel is never considerable. To be with such a cruel understanding
would conflict with our structure, history and culture.”
February/06/2013