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Ashton calls to return good Turkish-Israeli ties
The statement by the EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton came recently in response to a parliamentary question by a Greek member of the European Parliament. The Greek parliamentarian, Nikolaos Salavrakos, in a written question dated July 8, said that the recent crisis in relations between Israel and Turkey has been creating instability in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.
“Essentially, Islamic fundamentalism and anti-western sentiment in the Muslim world increase when they see a western Muslim country, which is a prospective member of the EU and a member of NATO, criticizing western policy in the Middle East and Israel,” Salavrakos suggested and then asked the European Commission’s position on the Turkey-Israel crisis.
“Turkey has recently started to become more assertive in its foreign policy. This new approach presents a number of potential assets which could turn to the benefit of the EU in a number of areas such as: overall relations with the Muslim world, dialogue with a number of key actors in the Middle East, military capacity for security and peace-making, energy policy, strong, a large and fast-growing market, industrial competitiveness and innovative capabilities,” Ashton said in her written response, which was released earlier this week.
“In this context the EU has begun to look at ways in which the EU and Turkey can enhance cooperation. As regards Turkish-Israeli relations, in particular after the flotilla incident of Mary 31, 2010, the EU condemned the use of violence that has produced a high number of victims among the members of the flotilla and have demanded an immediate, full and impartial inquiry into these events and the circumstances surrounding them,” Ashton recalled.
“However, the Commission is of the opinion that it would benefit Turkey and the entire region if Turkey and Israel could return to their traditionally good relations as soon as possible,” she concluded.
Tension between Israel and Turkey peaked in the aftermath of Israel’s May 31 raid on a humanitarian aid boat, resulting in the deaths of nine civilians, one Turkish-American and eight Turkish. Ankara has constantly made clear that relations must be normalized via a fulfillment of Turkey’s conditions for Israel. Following the May 31 incident, Israel said the soldiers acted in self-defense after being attacked as they boarded the Mavi Marmara. Turkey, on the other hand, is demanding an apology from Israel and compensation for the families of the victims.
British Baroness Ashton was named last year as the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, a new position that was created to give the 27-nation bloc a single voice on the world stage. However she has come under fire for not attending the Israeli-Palestinian talks last month. She has defended herself, saying her decision in no way reflected a priority shift for the EU.
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