Long-way ahead for full repair of relations with Israel

But the full restoration of ties depends on the receptive attitude of Barak’s coalition partners toward these messages, with Ankara conditioning a return to normal bilateral relations on concrete steps by Israel to end the months-long humanitarian tragedy in Gaza as well as a sign of willingness to revive peace efforts in the Middle East.

“Ankara is well aware that Israel has a government whose mind is extremely confused,” a senior Turkish diplomat told Today’s Zaman after Barak’s talks with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, reflecting vigilance over the fact that Barak’s call for being reasonable may eventually fall on deaf ears with regard to his coalition partners -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the leader of the hawkish Likud Party, and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu and the architect of the latest diplomatic scandal carried out by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.

Talks between Davutoğlu and Barak were described by Turkish diplomatic sources as an “expanded tête-à-tête” and took around two-and-a-half hours, one hour longer than planned. All joint dossiers between Israel and Turkey involving regional and bilateral affairs were discussed during the meeting, which was the first such senior-level meeting between the two sides for a considerably long period of time, which is why it lasted longer than planned.

Barak, speaking after talks with his Turkish counterpart, Vecdi Gönül, issued a conciliatory note, saying it was “proper and right” to leave the ups and down of the two countries in the past. Nevertheless, Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman on the same day suggested in Jerusalem that Israel has emptied out its “arsenal of gestures” to get the Palestinians to the negotiating table. “Since the establishment of the government we have made a large number of gestures,” he said.

Bearing in mind that the two messages Davutoğlu conveyed to Barak were that Israel should end the tragedy in Gaza and avoid impulsive statements concerning bilateral relations, it can easily be assumed after Lieberman’s Sunday remarks that there is still a long way to go before that phase in relations can be reached.

Following his talks with Davutoğlu and Gönül, Barak, speaking with a small group of journalists at the embassy residence, dismissed allegations that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Turkey and downplayed the criticism of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had leveled harsh remarks against Israel for its Gaza offensive.

“I do not see signs of anti-Semitism in Turkey, unlike other countries in the world,” Barak said, recalling that Turks had always helped Jews, including during the Spanish Inquisition and the Nazi regime in World War II. “Jews are accepted here [in Turkey],” he said.

Asked if he was concerned by Erdoğan’s continuing criticism of Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories, especially in Gaza, on which Israel has imposed an embargo, Barak said he understood Erdoğan’s position. “He speaks frankly, openly and in a transparent manner to our face,” the Israeli defense minister said, stressing that “you cannot put a question mark on Turkey’s judgment.”

As Barak was speaking with journalists, Erdoğan, ahead of his departure for a visit to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, said he was satisfied with Barak labeling the treatment a mistake and said Turkey would not pursue the issue any further.

Barak, meanwhile, also said Erdoğan’s criticism stands in sharp contrast to what Barak described as an “unjust” report issued by a “Jewish judge.” Barak was referring to Justice Richard Goldstone, who authored the United Nations report on the Gaza conflict, which found strong evidence of human rights violations committed by Israeli forces.

While downplaying Turkey’s objections and concerns over issues in occupied Palestinian territories, Barak said he hoped Turkey would understand Israeli motives in policies pursued by the current government. “We try to protect our citizens, which is our prime responsibility,” he stressed. Nevertheless, the Israeli defense minister signaled that the Israeli government understands Turkey’s position in the region. “We obviously want Turkey to be more pro-Israel. But you need to take a look at the whole picture in the region,” he underlined.

“We tried to prepare the ground with the hope of starting a new chapter with less friction,” he said when evaluating the feelings in the meetings he had in Ankara. Stressing that no one can predict the future in the Middle East, he noted, “I will do my best not to see any breakup in ties with Turkey.”

Barak was the first Israeli official to visit Turkey since the diplomatic feud that erupted last Monday when Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Ayalon, summoned Turkish Ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oğuz Çelikkol to complain about a TV show. The ambassador, who was refused a handshake, was forced to sit on a low sofa while Ayalon explained to local TV stations that the humiliation was intentional. Outraged, Turkey threatened to recall its ambassador, forcing Ayalon to apologize.

At a joint press conference following his talks with Barak, Gönül, meanwhile, said Turkey wanted to cooperate with Israel and called the two countries “neighbors” because of their shared interests.

“As long as we have the same interests, we work together to fix common problems. Also we are allies, we are strategic allies as long as our interests force us to be so,” Gönül said.