 |
US official praises dialogue with Turkey, dismisses shift
Philip Gordon, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, admitted that the two NATO allies do not see eye to eye on all issues. On Iran’s nuclear program, the United States and Turkey are both against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons but they have different opinions as to how this can be prevented, according to Gordon, who spoke on Wednesday at the Washington-based German Marshall Fund during the release of annual Transatlantic Trends survey.
The survey revealed growing Turkish frustration with the United States and the European Union. The number who said Turkey should work most closely with countries in the Middle East on international matters, rather than with the United States or the EU, doubled to reach 20 percent in 2010, with only 6 percent saying Turkey should work with Washington.
Only 38 percent of those surveyed said Turkey’s EU membership would be a good thing. In 2004, this figure was 70 percent. The majority of Turks were also not concerned about Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, in sharp contrast with respondents from the EU and the US, who were concerned, according to the survey.
Gordon said, in addition to Iran, there were differences of opinion between the United States and Turkey on a deadly Israeli raid on an aid ship in late May, during which Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and one American, and Hamas, the Palestinian group which runs Israeli-blockaded Gaza.
Despite the differences, however, the two countries are open towards each other. “I can say this: We don’t have such an open and ongoing dialogue with any other country in Europe,” he was quoted as saying in translated remarks carried by the Anatolia news agency.
The US’s dialogue with the Turkish government is not in line with the view that Turkey had been turning away from the West, Gordon said, stating that Turkish officials’ remarks show that Turkey still considers itself a key member of NATO, that it is willing to join the EU and that it attaches importance to cooperation with the United States. The US’s relations with Turkey are “very important and strategic,” Gordon went on to say.
On Turkey’s EU prospects, Gordon said it was not encouraging to see that the Turkish enthusiasm for membership is declining, but he appeared to put the blame on the EU, saying the EU should take steps to get Turkey’s focus back on the process because it was important to encourage Turkey to move forward towards membership. Turkey’s EU accession depends on both Turkey and the EU; however, the United States continues to support Turkey, he said.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BÜLENT KENEŞ |  |
||
| What befell Niyazi-i Misri in the past is happening to Fethullah Gülen now | |||
| EKREM DUMANLI |  |
||
| When a call for fairness and reason finds acceptance | |||
| ŞAHİN ALPAY |  |
||
| Uludere, test case for democracy in Turkey | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Are the Kurds mentally divorced from Turkey? | |||
| GÖKHAN BACIK |  |
||
| Erdoğan, Gül and Davutoğlu: the inner bargain on Turkish foreign policy | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| Taking lessons from previous experiences with the military | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR |  |
||
| Qualm | |||
| ÖMER TAŞPINAR |  |
||
| A new phase in Syria? | |||
| İHSAN DAĞI |  |
||
| Turkish foreign policy: Time for a re-evaluation | |||
| SEYFETTİN GÜRSEL |  |
||
| Poor-friendly economic growth and the AK Party | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON |  |
||
| Missing women, missing opportunities | |||
| BERK ÇEKTİR |  |
||
| Changes to incentives for investment in Turkey | |||
| MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK |  |
||
| The 1960 coup: a final test for democracy | |||
| AMANDA PAUL |  |
||
| Ukraine: a lost country | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE |  |
||
| The 52nd anniversary of May 27 | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
