2 - 8 August 2001
Issue No.545
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 2 - 8 August 2001 Issue No.545 |
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Turkish assurances
The Turkish foreign minister's visit to Cairo seemed aimed mainly at reassuring Arabs regarding Ankra's ties with the Sharon government. Soha Abdelaty reports
A visit to Cairo on Monday by Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem was dominated by the issue of Turkey's relations with Israel. Cem found himself under a barrage of questions regarding his country's military cooperation with Israel and was repeatedly obliged to defend Turkey's ties to the Sharon regime.
After meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told reporters Cem affirmed that Turkey is "using its relationship with Israel, and especially the upcoming visit by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, to push the peace process forward and try to convince [Sharon] to take a more compliant stance on demands for peace in the region." When pressed by reporters, Maher refused to comment further as to whether Cairo was convinced by the Turkish argument.
Cem's visit comes at a time when Arab public opinion is enraged at the escalation of violence in the Palestinian territories. News of Israeli Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz's recent visit to Turkey and an upcoming visit by Sharon scheduled to begin on 8 August further inflamed Arab sensibilities. Also of special interest to Egypt and other Arab countries are reports of a so-called joint missile defence shield to protect both Turkey and Israel.
Cem worked to diffuse these concerns, but with little success. "Our relations with any country, including Israel, are not directed against any other country... We know, however, that our relations with Israel are sometimes extremely exaggerated [and] taken from a different perspective," he said. Cem dismissed claims that any form of military agreement between Turkey and Israel targeted Arab countries. "Some Israeli circles like to say Turkey and Israel have a military agreement against the Arabs -- [which is] not correct -- so that the relationship between Arabs and Turks do not progress well." Cem suggested that some Arab circles play the same game.
Cem also denied that Turkey uses its relations with Israel to put pressure on Syria. "We do not consider our friendships as bargaining chips," he told reporters. But the reporters were obviously unconvinced and accused Turkey of doing just that. Cem dismissed the accusations as "complete nonsense."
In an attempt to demonstrate Turkey's good faith, Cem invited Egyptian pilots to come and use the facilities at Konya air force base for exercise purposes, explaining that Israeli pilots' usage of the facilities is more of a commercial agreement between the two sides. "We rent those facilities. It's a contract, really -- a mere commercial endeavour... Anyone is welcome," he said. The Egyptian side has not yet responded to the offer, but given that this is not the first offer of its kind, it is unlikely Egypt would agree.
Arab countries were alarmed when Israel and Turkey signed a military cooperation agreement back in 1996. Since then, however, diplomatic sources say, Turkey has been more careful when handling the issue of its relations with Israel. This would explain Cem's keenness to visit Egypt at this time, in a clear attempt to allay Arab concerns.
Cem expressed his conviction that tensions with Arab nations have been overcome, citing improved Syrian-Turkish ties as an example. But the muted official response to his visit seems to indicate that Cem left more scepticism than reassurance in the wake of his visit. (see p.5)
Additional reporting by Tarek Atia
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