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Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said his country's ambassador to Israel will soon be recalled for consultations, following sharp criticism from Ankara of Israel's military operations.
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| By Ellis Shuman May 28, 2004 |
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Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said his country's ambassador to Israel will soon be recalled for consultations, following sharp criticism from Ankara of Israel's military operations. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently labeled the IDF actions in Rafiah as "state terror." Israeli Foreign Ministry officials stressed that despite the tough criticism, Israel's relations with its strategic ally remain strong.
Turkish Ambassador to Israel Feridun Sinirlioglu told Army Radio today that Turkey was not recalling its ambassador, but rather calling him for consultations.
"I understand what led to the IDF operations in Rafiah," Sinirlioglu said. "If the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Ankara calls me to go home, I will explain in detail what led Israel to undertake these operations in the Gaza Strip. I will report to my superiors what went wrong and what was achieved in Operation Rainbow," he said.
Yesterday, Sinirlioglu told the Jerusalem Post that the Israeli-Turkish relationship "is based on mutual interests, and as long as it is mutually beneficial it will continue. We might have differences of opinions and raise concerns about certain issues - but this will not the change the essence of the relationship and the friendship, because it doesn't change our common interests."
Turkish newspapers yesterday reported the possibility that Turkey might give its representative in its east Jerusalem consulate, which handles relations with the Palestinians, ambassadorial status.
On Wednesday, Gul said Turkey had growing concerns over the Middle East peace process at a time when Israel was continuing its military offensive.
"We are interested in the peace process and are following it closely in order to try and revive it ... In order to make a proper assessment, we may recall our ambassador for several days for consultations, after which he will return," Gul said.
Turkey's foreign minister said the goal of such a step would be to discuss "what more our country can do on behalf of the peace process."
Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Pini Avivi downplayed the importance of Gul's statements. "The Turkish leadership understands that relations [with Israel] are so important that various elements cannot be allowed to damage them."
Avivi said that the Turks are critical of Israel's policies toward the Palestinians, yet this has not harmed bilateral relations between Turkey and Israel, Haaretz reported. "We can argue about many topics, but not about our friendship," he stated.
Gul's comments came after his meeting with Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky, who was visiting Turkey in efforts to develop additional energy ties between the two countries.
Paritzky said his meetings in Turkey were very difficult. In his meeting with the Turkish prime minister on Tuesday, Erdogan strongly condemned Israel's policies of targeting individuals and civilians.
"What's the difference between terrorists who kill civilians, and Israel which kills civilians?" Erdogan asked. Paritzky later said he considered walking out of the meeting following these comments.
Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said that despite the harsh criticism, Israeli-Turkish ties continue to be both significant and strong, and serve the interests of both countries.
"Even if there sometimes exists a lack of agreement, it is possible to clarify the issues, but there is no room for these types of steps when talking about relations between two friendly countries," the ministry said in a statement.
Military, energy, tourism and water ties
While visiting in Turkey, Paritzky attended the signing ceremony an $800 million deal between Turkish and Israeli firms for the construction of power stations in Ashkelon, Migdal Ha'emek and Eilat.
In March, Israel signed a deal to purchase of 50 million cubic meters of water from Turkey each year for 20 years. Paritzky said the strategic allies would soon conduct a pre-feasibility study to consider channeling electricity, natural gas, crude oil and refined oil products under the Mediterranean from Turkey.
Israel is currently upgrading 170 Turkish M-60 tanks, 54 F-4 fighter planes and 48 F-5s under a multi-billion dollar agreement, in addition to a number of military activities including the exchange of air space, pilots, mutual visits and joint military maneuvers, the Jerusalem Post reported. The two countries signed military cooperation accords in 1996, and have conducted joint military exercises with the United States.
In addition, some 300,000 Israeli tourists visited Turkey in 2003, adding an estimated $500,000 to the lagging Turkish economy, the Jerusalem Post reported. There was some $1.4 billion in trade between the two countries in 2003, with Turkey enjoying a clear balance of trade advantage, exporting some $950 million worth of goods to Israel, the paper said.
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