Israel attempts to make Russia major player in Mideast

 However, regional experts disagree with this statement. Adjunct senior research fellow Shlomo Gazit from the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), a think tank based in Israel, told Sunday's Zaman that although he highly regarded Turkey's ambitions to help bring about reconciliation between Israel and Syria after their long-lasting territorial dispute, he is not optimistic about the results of these efforts. Commenting on the Israel-Syrian indirect talks, Gazit, a prominent expert on Israeli foreign policy, said: “I am a strong supporter of Israeli-Syrian peace talks, and I would like very much to see a political settlement between our two countries. From this point of view, I highly appreciate the present Turkish initiative, which tried to bring peace between Israel and Syria.”

 "We have enormous respect and great appreciation for Turkish efforts. But they have not succeeded -- not because of the Turks," Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon stated on Tuesday. This does not necessarily mean that Israeli-Syrian talks have failed under Turkish auspices. “Nevertheless,” Gazit continued, “I am afraid the present Turkish approach has no serious chance for success.”                                                                                                

 Stating that the Turkish negotiation efforts were ambiguous and their success seemed improbable, Gazit also noted that Israel no longer trusts Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his outspoken criticism at Davos concerning Palestinians. “Turkish [Prime Minister] Erdoğan is not presently considered in Israel as an honest broker, following his attitude and statements during the recent military encounter in the Gaza Strip,” he noted. Moreover, the expert believes direct negotiations are imperative between Israel and Syria.

 The Israel-Syria indirect talks began with Turkey's mediation to secure the return of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967, to Syria. Despite over a year of negotiations, the two sides failed to reach a clear solution. Ayalon said on Tuesday that Israel will no longer continue talks with Syria under Turkish mediation. He stated that direct talks are a prerequisite to continue the negotiations.

 Hüseyin Sümer, an independent analyst based in İstanbul, speaking with Sunday's Zaman, stated that he does not think Israel is trying to bypass Turkey and replace Turkey with Russia. “This case is similar to Azerbaijan-Turkey relations when Turkey attempted to normalize relations with Armenia so İlham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, went to Moscow,” Sümer said. According to the expert, Turkey has begun to undertake proactive policies. He thinks that Turkish foreign policy became more influential, which strained relations between Israel and Turkey. Mentioning the problems between Israel and Turkey, Sümer says these problems should not be the reason for stalled relationships between the two countries. “There are unnamed thousands of Israeli companies currently operating in Turkey. Turkey and Israel have bilateral military agreements with each other.” Referring to these facts, Sümer concludes that Israeli-Turkish relations are unlikely to worsen in such a way.

 International Strategic and Research Organization (ISRO) head Sedat Laçiner told Sunday's Zaman, “Israel wants to take a position to protest Turkey by sidelining with Russia.” “However,” he immediately pointed out, “they cannot get any tangible results out of this. Russia blamed Israel, saying it sold weapons to Georgia during the August 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia. Russia also has a close relationship with Iran and Syria. This means that Russia cannot be like Turkey in mediating the talks. Israel, in fact, lost much by keeping Turkey out of the talks.”

 Comparing Russia and Turkey, the expert says Turkey and Russia are not similar countries. “Turkey became a natural broker between Syria and Israel due to its increasing role in the Middle East. Israel gained much from Turkey, and it was Turkey that brought Israel and Syria together,” Laçiner said, adding that Israel cannot find a country like Turkey and Turkey wants the best both for Syria and Israel.