Ricciardone, speaking as he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, said the Turkish-Israeli relationship was important both for the two countries and the US.
Relations between Turkey and Israel deteriorated sharply after Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and one American during a May 31 raid on an aid ship trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
“The increasing strains in their relations, particularly since the Gaza flotilla incident, risk setting back the vitally important interests of both those countries, and of the United States, in regional peace and stability. Therefore we have underscored to both countries the importance to them and to us of their mutually beneficial relationship.”
He maintained that he believed Turkey was aware that it needs to have normal and strong relations with Israel if it wants to become an influential actor in its region.
The US diplomat also reiterated that Washington was “disappointed” that Turkey did not support sanctions against Iran over its contentious nuclear program at the UN Security Council and said Iran must negotiate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the P5+1 group, comprising the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. “As ambassador, I will continue to emphasize that the United States needs Turkey’s help for Iran to understand that it must engage directly with the IAEA and P5+1 on the international community’s concerns about its nuclear program,” he said.
Ricciardone also signaled that he would press Ankara to extend religious freedoms for Turkey’s non-Muslim community, particularly in regard to its treatment of the İstanbul-based Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, and called for the reopening of Halki seminary. “We are particularly interested to see Turkey shine, as a protector of religious freedom. There could be no more powerful modern testimony to Turkey’s historic legacy of religious tolerance than reopening the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Halki Seminary,” he said.
