REVITALIZING TURKISH-US STRATEGIC TIES DEPENDS ON SOLVING SOME STICKY ISSUES
Ilnur Cevik
New Anatolian, Turkey
19 September 2007
U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns will
hold talks with Turkish leaders today to seek ways to "revitalize"
the strategic relationship between Ankara and Washington.
The no.3 official of the State Department arrived in Istanbul Monday
night and has spent Tuesday in Istanbul. He flew to Ankara later
Tuesday.
In Istanbul Burns met with members of the Parliament during an iftar,
and with religious leaders, students, and civil society activists.
The U.S. State Department has said Burns will discuss a range of
strategic issues with the new Turkish government and reaffirm the
great importance the U.S. attaches to its alliance with Turkey.
This will be the first in a series of high-level meetings between
the United States and the new Turkish government that will take place
this autumn, stated the Department.
In Ankara, Burns will meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and senior members of the Foreign Ministry and Parliament.
Burns has already given hints about the issues to be taken up with
Turkish leaders during his address to the Atlantic Council of the
United States in Washington last week.
Iraq is a sticky issue between Turkey and the U.S.
While Americans are happy to see Turkish efforts to keep Iraq intact
Ankara is now questioning America’s future plans about the Kurds
of Iraq.
The Kurdish puzzle —————————–ARA BASLIK
Ankara is angered with the presence of the PKK terrorists in the
northern mountains of Iraq in areas controlled by the autonomous
Kurdish administration.
PKK terrorists use the area to launch terrorist attacks into
Turkey. Ankara says the Americans have not been able to help to
convince the Iraqi Kurds not to allow the PKK to feel at home in the
northern provinces.
Some circles in Ankara see growing American favoritism towards
the Kurdish administration in Erbil that governs the northern
provinces. There are signs that the U.S. may turn a blind eye to
Kurdish independence.
Ankara is against Kurdish independence as it fears this could encourage
secessionism among Turkey’s Kurds living in the neighboring region
of southeastern Turkey.
Earlier this month, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) announced
that it had signed a production-sharing deal with Texas-based Hunt
Oil. The move is an indication that Western oil companies, frustrated
over the delay in the passage of a national oil law by the Iraqi
government, are moving to make deals with regional bodies to get
access to Iraq’s vast oil reserves.
As significant as the deal itself is the identity of the company
involved. Ray Hunt, the CEO and president of privately held Hunt Oil,
is a close confidant of President Bush and a prominent figure in the
US political and intelligence establishment.
To what extent the policy of the Bush administration is motivating
the deal-and to what extent it is motivated by purely profit
interests-cannot be determined. However, the announcement comes at
a time of growing strains between the Iraqi federal government, led
by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the Bush administration. Many
commentators have noted that the moves by Kurdish authorities to
establish autonomy in the control of the region’s oil resources could
contribute to a fracturing of the Iraqi state along sectarian lines.
Hussain al-Shahristani, the Iraqi oil minister in the Maliki cabinet,
denounced the agreement, saying, "Any oil deal has no standing as
far as the government of Iraq is concerned. All these contracts have
to be approved by the Federal Authority before they are legal. This
[contract] was not presented for approval.
It has no standing."
Turkey wants to know if Washington will sacrifice its strategic
relations with Ankara for an independent Kurdish state. This will
be one of the vital questions that Turks will seek an answer when
Burns talks to Turkish officials and in the other high level meetings
between the two countries.
What to do with Iran? ———————- ARA BASLIK
The other sticky issue that Ankara and Washington have to resolve
is what to do with Iran. The Americans are visibly annoyed with
Turkey’s growing relations with the Iranians. Turkey and Iran have
recently signed a major energy deal where Turkey will develop the
rich Iranian natural gas fields and also build a pipeline to sell
Iranian gas to Europe.
The U.S. feels as long as Iran does not abandon its nuclear program
it will remain a major "target."
Recent events where Israelis allegedly made trial runs over Syria
to hit Iranian nuclear facilities with allegedly the blessing of
Washington and other statements coming out of the U.S. suggest that
the Americans are considering a military option against Iran.
Burns has told the Atlantic Council that in this area while
U.S. appreciates Turkey’s diplomatic efforts to tame Iran there is
a difference of opinion on how to handle the Tehran file.
Burns said "the United States and Turkey still need to work out some
tactical differences in handling Iran.
We understand that Iran is a neighbor of Turkey and key trading
partner, which sends over a million tourists to Turkey each
year. Turkey’s recent conclusion of a memorandum on energy cooperation
with Iran, however, is troubling. Now is not the time for business
as usual with Iran. We urge all of our friends and allies, including
Turkey, to not reward Iran by investing in its oil and gas sector,
while Iran continues to defy the United Nations Security Council by
continuing its nuclear research for a weapons capability."
Other sticky issues ————————— ARA BASLIK
Turkeys feels it has to face the realities in Cyprus and seek a
solution that will also eliminate some of the serious obstacles for
its European Union membership.
The Greek Cypriots who are a member of the EU have been effectively
blocking Turkey’s accession process.
Turkey has to open its ports and airfields to the Greek Cypriots,
a move that would create havoc for the Erdogan government at home.
Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders have met to revive the July 8,
2006 process but the impasse continues.
The U.S. has moved to help the Turkish Cypriots and ease their
international isolation while the EU has been reluctant to follow
course. Ankara expects the Americans to put pressure on the Greek
Cypriots to be more facilitating.
A strong Greek Cypriot lobby is making life difficult for Turkey
in Washington. But that is the least of Ankara’s worries. There is
even a stronger lobby in Washington that is seriously threatening
Turkish-American ties: The Armenians.
A move by the Armenians to legislate a congressional bill that will
recognize the acts of 1915 as genocide committed by the Ottoman Turks
against Armenians is pending. Turks are up in arms and the American
administration has told the U.S. Congress such moves will seriously
bilateral relations.
But it is clear that the U.S. administration is really tired of having
to contain a fire that erupts every April with the Armenians pushing
for revenge and the Turks threatening the U.S. with serious damage
to ties.
Americans say Turkey should open its borders with Armenia is a move
to reconciliation. But Turks feel such a move will not blunt the
antagonism of the Armenian diasporas in northern America and Europe
that are calling for revenge.
Turkey and the U.S. also do not see eye to eye over the reek Orthodox
Church in Istanbul. The Americans regard the church as ecumenical
while Turkey says it is only a regional church.
On the Middle East Turkey sees a major danger of new conflicts in the
Middle East if Iraq is allowed to collapse. Turkey sees the danger
of a major confrontation between the Iran inspired Shiites of the
region and the Sunni Arab axis formed by Iraqi Arabs, Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Syria and Gulf Arabs.
Turks feel they can help in the Middle East peace process with their
special relationship with Israel and their close contacts with Syria
and the Palestinians. But Turks feel the confrontation between Shiites
and the Arab axis could be a nightmare.
Americans also have to understand that the Arabs reject the Turkish
version of moderate Islam where a party with Islamic roots can support
secularism and modernization. So while Turkey remains a unique Islamic
model that can blend into the western civilization there are clear
indications that this model will not be adopted by the Arabs.
Turkish and American leaders will have to address these issues as
they set the stage for rejuvenating the strategic relationship.