.Turkey acts to ease fears over Islamic ties
TURKEY has hit back at accusations it is turning its back on the West in favour of closer ties with the Islamic world.
The country insists that membership of the EU is its key foreign policy goal.
"There is no reason to have any doubts about Turkey," President Abdullah Gul declared in a forceful interview designed to allay alarm in Europe and the US about its increasingly close relations with radical Middle East regimes.
Turkey was not "lost", he said, denouncing such claims as "unacceptable" and stressing that Turkey was also forging ties far beyond the Arab world. "I consider it very wrong to interpret Turkey's interests with other geographic regions as it breaking from the West, turning its back on the West or seeking alternatives to the West. Turkey is part of Europe," he said.
Mr Gul argued that the US and Europe should welcome its growing engagement in the Middle East because it was promoting Western values in a region largely governed by authoritarian regimes. Rebuking some Western politicians for their outdated views of Turkey, he insisted the country had undergone a "silent revolution". It was now a big economic power that had embraced democracy, human rights and the free market. It had become a "source of inspiration" in the region. "If this is not acknowledged, it's a pity," Mr Gul lamented.
Turkey is a strategically vital country of 72 million people that straddles the border of Europe and Asia, has NATO's second-largest army and is a supply hub for US war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has also caused consternation in Western capitals in recent months. Not only has it welcomed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and congratulated him on his stolen election victory, it also voted against UN sanctions to try to halt the Iranian nuclear program.
The nation has lent support to Hamas, which is on the US and EU lists of terrorist organisations. "We are respecting the choice of the Palestinian people in Gaza," Mr Gul said. Turkey was preparing to host President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, who is wanted for crimes against humanity, at an Islamic conference until the EU objected. It has assiduously courted Syria, with whom it nearly went to war in 1998.
At the same time, Turkey has condemned Israel, formerly its closest regional ally and supplier of much of its military hardware, over its invasion of Gaza and the recent killing by Israeli commandos of nine Turkish civilians on a Gaza-bound flotilla. Apart from one secret ministerial meeting this week, relations are frozen, with Turkey demanding an apology and compensation.
Mr Gul insisted Turkey had always been Israel's friend but asked: "If an army of a state kills your people in international waters, how would you react?"
From the US, particularly, there have been clear signs of displeasure and mutterings about how the ruling AK Party is returning to its Islamic roots. US President Barack Obama had a frosty meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at last weekend's G20 summit. "We think Turkey remains committed to NATO, Europe and the US, but that needs to be demonstrated," said Philip Gordon, the administration's top European diplomat.
Mr Gul admitted there was "a gap between perception and reality and it needs some clarification". Speaking in his summer residence overlooking the Bosphorus, he described a country that has Europe's fastest - and almost only - expanding economy, with 11 per cent growth in the first quarter of this year alone and the continent's most stable financial system. Turkey's growing economic strength was matched by an increasingly ambitious and independent foreign policy - one driven by trade and based on engagement, not confrontation. "We used to implement other people's programs," Mr Gul noted.
Iran, with whom Turkey enjoys blossoming trade and from whom it imports one-third of its gas, was a case in point, he said. Mr Gul said Turkey did not believe sanctions would stop Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons and feared they would lead to another disastrous war like that in Iraq. As a neighbour, it stood to lose most, so it had combined with Brazil to broker
a confidence-building agreement with Iran on exchanging uranium.
"We thought it would be appreciated," Mr Gul said. When the US and its European allies pressed ahead with UN sanctions anyway, "we were surprised". Turkey voted against the sanctions to keep its own deal on the table.
Turkey's growing activism in its own backyard has served it well. Its trade with the Middle East has jumped from $US1.9 billion in 1991 to more than $US23bn last year. Trade with Iran has risen more than 500 per cent since 2002, with about 75,000 trucks a year crossing their mutual border.
Turkey's standing in the region has soared, with Mr Erdogan lauded for standing up to Israel. Turkish TV is now watched across the Middle East, and relaxed visa restrictions mean Arabs are flocking to Turkey. Mr Gul argued that the West should welcome this, saying that millions of Arabs were comparing Turkey's success with that of their own countries'.
"Our friends in the West should appreciate that Turkey is indirectly spreading all these values in our neighbourhood," he said.
The Australian
The country insists that membership of the EU is its key foreign policy goal.
"There is no reason to have any doubts about Turkey," President Abdullah Gul declared in a forceful interview designed to allay alarm in Europe and the US about its increasingly close relations with radical Middle East regimes.
Turkey was not "lost", he said, denouncing such claims as "unacceptable" and stressing that Turkey was also forging ties far beyond the Arab world. "I consider it very wrong to interpret Turkey's interests with other geographic regions as it breaking from the West, turning its back on the West or seeking alternatives to the West. Turkey is part of Europe," he said.
Mr Gul argued that the US and Europe should welcome its growing engagement in the Middle East because it was promoting Western values in a region largely governed by authoritarian regimes. Rebuking some Western politicians for their outdated views of Turkey, he insisted the country had undergone a "silent revolution". It was now a big economic power that had embraced democracy, human rights and the free market. It had become a "source of inspiration" in the region. "If this is not acknowledged, it's a pity," Mr Gul lamented.
Turkey is a strategically vital country of 72 million people that straddles the border of Europe and Asia, has NATO's second-largest army and is a supply hub for US war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has also caused consternation in Western capitals in recent months. Not only has it welcomed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and congratulated him on his stolen election victory, it also voted against UN sanctions to try to halt the Iranian nuclear program.
The nation has lent support to Hamas, which is on the US and EU lists of terrorist organisations. "We are respecting the choice of the Palestinian people in Gaza," Mr Gul said. Turkey was preparing to host President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, who is wanted for crimes against humanity, at an Islamic conference until the EU objected. It has assiduously courted Syria, with whom it nearly went to war in 1998.
At the same time, Turkey has condemned Israel, formerly its closest regional ally and supplier of much of its military hardware, over its invasion of Gaza and the recent killing by Israeli commandos of nine Turkish civilians on a Gaza-bound flotilla. Apart from one secret ministerial meeting this week, relations are frozen, with Turkey demanding an apology and compensation.
Mr Gul insisted Turkey had always been Israel's friend but asked: "If an army of a state kills your people in international waters, how would you react?"
From the US, particularly, there have been clear signs of displeasure and mutterings about how the ruling AK Party is returning to its Islamic roots. US President Barack Obama had a frosty meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at last weekend's G20 summit. "We think Turkey remains committed to NATO, Europe and the US, but that needs to be demonstrated," said Philip Gordon, the administration's top European diplomat.
Mr Gul admitted there was "a gap between perception and reality and it needs some clarification". Speaking in his summer residence overlooking the Bosphorus, he described a country that has Europe's fastest - and almost only - expanding economy, with 11 per cent growth in the first quarter of this year alone and the continent's most stable financial system. Turkey's growing economic strength was matched by an increasingly ambitious and independent foreign policy - one driven by trade and based on engagement, not confrontation. "We used to implement other people's programs," Mr Gul noted.
Iran, with whom Turkey enjoys blossoming trade and from whom it imports one-third of its gas, was a case in point, he said. Mr Gul said Turkey did not believe sanctions would stop Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons and feared they would lead to another disastrous war like that in Iraq. As a neighbour, it stood to lose most, so it had combined with Brazil to broker
a confidence-building agreement with Iran on exchanging uranium.
"We thought it would be appreciated," Mr Gul said. When the US and its European allies pressed ahead with UN sanctions anyway, "we were surprised". Turkey voted against the sanctions to keep its own deal on the table.
Turkey's growing activism in its own backyard has served it well. Its trade with the Middle East has jumped from $US1.9 billion in 1991 to more than $US23bn last year. Trade with Iran has risen more than 500 per cent since 2002, with about 75,000 trucks a year crossing their mutual border.
Turkey's standing in the region has soared, with Mr Erdogan lauded for standing up to Israel. Turkish TV is now watched across the Middle East, and relaxed visa restrictions mean Arabs are flocking to Turkey. Mr Gul argued that the West should welcome this, saying that millions of Arabs were comparing Turkey's success with that of their own countries'.
"Our friends in the West should appreciate that Turkey is indirectly spreading all these values in our neighbourhood," he said.
The Australian
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