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| The Grand Turk |
| Israel, Egypt, Turkey |
| 2011-09-18 |
| The writer,ZVI MAZEL, is a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt. The fact is that the present crisis has its roots in the election which in 2002 brought Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist party -- well known for its hostility to the Jews -- to power. Erdogan dismantled one after the other the bulwarks built by Ataturk, father of modern Turkey, that ensured that the country would remain secular. ...Erdogan then tried to set up a strategic front under his leadership by strengthening ties with Syria and Iran. The ongoing popular uprising in Syria and Iran's growing estrangement from the West and its support for Syria demonstrated the fragility of those alliances. ...Though Turkey was now without any ally in the region, Erdogan went on boasting that it was the greatest power there and that its influence was felt in every country. His highly vocal attacks on Israel and his support for the Palestinians are to be seen as efforts to position himself in the Arab world -- a world made of countries torn by internal strife and so deeply divided that they would be shaky allies at best. He nevertheless went to Egypt to see whether a strategic alliance could be made with a country which had long been his rival. The visit was not an unmitigated success. Though the Turkish leader, basking in popular applause, negotiated a number of commercial agreements, the ruling Supreme Military Council would not commit itself. Egypt has enough troubles of its own without taking a stand which would put it at cross purposes with the United States. Even the Muslim Brotherhood, Erdogan's longtime ally, was offended by his recommendation to turn Egypt into a secular democratic state, and declared in no uncertain terms that Turkey should mind its own business. To put it in a nutshell, Turkey is not only isolated, it is facing serious troubles. Its alliance with Iran and with Syria is in ruin. Turkey and Syria have reinforced the forces stationed at their border with Turkey. The Kurdish minority is still fighting for its independence; old conflicts with Armenia and Greece are smoldering with occasional flare-ups. Relations with Cyprus are tense since Turkey ordered that country to stop drilling for gas in the Mediterranean because of a potential infringement on the rights of the northern part of the country under Turkish occupation which is not recognized by the international community. Turkish threats also prevented Lebanon from ratifying the agreement it had signed with Cyprus regarding their respective maritime borders. The US and even Russia are clearly unhappy about Turkey meddling everywhere in the eastern Mediterranean. According to information from Defencenet.gr, quoting a Russian FM spokesman.º Russia has sent two nuclear-powered submarines to patrol Eastern Mediterranean waters around Cyprus and enforce the island's right to explore for undersea oil and gas in its territorial waters. |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #3 This guy must be smoking something very strong to say that Russia sent 2 submarines to protect Cyprus. |
| Posted by: Chomosing Hupimp6046 2011-09-18 18:09 |
| #2 Which Russia obviously must have a stake in. I don't know. After years of human rights rhetoric used to justify sleazoid behavior, it's kinda refreshing to hear a country stating it acts to advance its interests. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-09-18 15:03 |
| #1 "Russia has sent two nuclear-powered submarines to patrol Eastern Mediterranean waters around Cyprus and enforce the island's right to explore for undersea oil and gas in its territorial waters." Which Russia obviously must have a stake in. It's not like they'd enforce other nations "rights" out of the goodness of their |
| Posted by: Barbara 2011-09-18 09:22 |