Tweet
Hurriyet, Turkey
Dec 8 2009
First Impressions of White House Meeting
by Sedat Ergin
Any fresh-from-the-oven evaluation made based on the statements given
immediately after the meeting at the White House between US President
Barack Obama and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan undoubtedly
carries the risk of missing out some details. However, it is
nevertheless still possible to highlight some of the lines drawn just
by looking at the general tone of the statements.
In particular, the warm tone dominating Obama's statement is doubtless
important in that the President set himself the goal of raising
relations with Turkey to the highest level possible. It may be said
that Obama's approach, as seen during his visit to Turkey in April,
has been given fresh impetus with this visit. The decision to set up a
new mechanism in order to take relations further seems to be one
tangible outcome of this visit in terms of bilateral relations.
Obama's stressing that Ankara was increasing its influence in its area
shows that the regional role Turkey is playing is being both
appreciated and supported by the Democrat administration. Obama's
comments at the same time showed once again the United States desires
to work closely and to cooperate with Turkey in international issues.
Protocols with Armenia not advancing
Obama praised Turkey's courage for signing the protocols with Armenia
then voiced his expectations for the next step to be taken, for the
protocols to be ratified. Erdogan for his part said that progress in
Turkish-Armenian relations, in other words ratification of the
protocols, hinged on the Karabakh problem being fixed. "This is very
important for normalization," he said. By saying this, the prime
minister clearly told the United States that he expected it to apply
pressure on Armenia with respect to Karabakh. As it is now, all sides
are clearly maintaining their respective positions on the Armenia
issue. It all comes down to the degree to which the United States can
twist Armenia's arm.
United States may not be insistent on Afghanistan
What gave yesterday's meeting a critical image even before it began
was the United States request for Turkey to send combat forces to
Afghanistan. However, in the light of yesterday's statements we can
say that this topic has been left behind. Obama talked of Turkey's
"outstanding contributions" in Afghanistan even as he began his
address. This may be seen as a sign that he is not going to be
insistent on this matter. Erdogan recalled that Turkey was already
boosting the number of its soldiers in Afghanistan and stated that it
was going to play a more active role in training the army and the
police and was going to invest more in infrastructure. This can be
seen as an effort to make up in other areas for America's request for
combat forces. It may be guessed that the prime minister voiced the
opinion that any dispatch of combat forces by Muslim Turkey would only
hinder any contributions that Turkey could make for Afghanistan. Obama
can be expected to have seen the sense in this.
Turkey could be trapped in the middle in Iran
Obama's mention that Turkey could play an important role in
international efforts regarding Iran's nuclear programme showed that
he appreciated the role being played in this area by Turkish diplomacy
in the new era. It is obvious that Erdogan wants to play a bridging
role between the United States and Iran. Following these statements it
may be guessed that there is going to be a lot of activity within the
Washington-Ankara-Tehran triangle in the period ahead. However,
yesterday's statements gave no indication of how synchronization could
be achieved between the United States concerns about Iran and Turkey's
more sympathetic approach to Iran in this matter when compared to the
West. If the United States goes for the diplomatic option and takes
the matter to the UNSC, Turkey could well find itself squished between
Iran and the United States.
Importance Of White House
When you look at the other topics apart from those ones you can put
another tick in the plus column for Turkey with Obama's support for
the Kurdish overture and his unambiguous words of support regarding
terrorism. Visits to the White House have always been meetings that
bolster a Turkish leader's political standing. In this respect it may
be said that Erdogan is going to return to Turkey this time with his
sails filled by the winds of Obama's strong support.
[translated from Turkish]
Dec 8 2009
First Impressions of White House Meeting
by Sedat Ergin
Any fresh-from-the-oven evaluation made based on the statements given
immediately after the meeting at the White House between US President
Barack Obama and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan undoubtedly
carries the risk of missing out some details. However, it is
nevertheless still possible to highlight some of the lines drawn just
by looking at the general tone of the statements.
In particular, the warm tone dominating Obama's statement is doubtless
important in that the President set himself the goal of raising
relations with Turkey to the highest level possible. It may be said
that Obama's approach, as seen during his visit to Turkey in April,
has been given fresh impetus with this visit. The decision to set up a
new mechanism in order to take relations further seems to be one
tangible outcome of this visit in terms of bilateral relations.
Obama's stressing that Ankara was increasing its influence in its area
shows that the regional role Turkey is playing is being both
appreciated and supported by the Democrat administration. Obama's
comments at the same time showed once again the United States desires
to work closely and to cooperate with Turkey in international issues.
Protocols with Armenia not advancing
Obama praised Turkey's courage for signing the protocols with Armenia
then voiced his expectations for the next step to be taken, for the
protocols to be ratified. Erdogan for his part said that progress in
Turkish-Armenian relations, in other words ratification of the
protocols, hinged on the Karabakh problem being fixed. "This is very
important for normalization," he said. By saying this, the prime
minister clearly told the United States that he expected it to apply
pressure on Armenia with respect to Karabakh. As it is now, all sides
are clearly maintaining their respective positions on the Armenia
issue. It all comes down to the degree to which the United States can
twist Armenia's arm.
United States may not be insistent on Afghanistan
What gave yesterday's meeting a critical image even before it began
was the United States request for Turkey to send combat forces to
Afghanistan. However, in the light of yesterday's statements we can
say that this topic has been left behind. Obama talked of Turkey's
"outstanding contributions" in Afghanistan even as he began his
address. This may be seen as a sign that he is not going to be
insistent on this matter. Erdogan recalled that Turkey was already
boosting the number of its soldiers in Afghanistan and stated that it
was going to play a more active role in training the army and the
police and was going to invest more in infrastructure. This can be
seen as an effort to make up in other areas for America's request for
combat forces. It may be guessed that the prime minister voiced the
opinion that any dispatch of combat forces by Muslim Turkey would only
hinder any contributions that Turkey could make for Afghanistan. Obama
can be expected to have seen the sense in this.
Turkey could be trapped in the middle in Iran
Obama's mention that Turkey could play an important role in
international efforts regarding Iran's nuclear programme showed that
he appreciated the role being played in this area by Turkish diplomacy
in the new era. It is obvious that Erdogan wants to play a bridging
role between the United States and Iran. Following these statements it
may be guessed that there is going to be a lot of activity within the
Washington-Ankara-Tehran triangle in the period ahead. However,
yesterday's statements gave no indication of how synchronization could
be achieved between the United States concerns about Iran and Turkey's
more sympathetic approach to Iran in this matter when compared to the
West. If the United States goes for the diplomatic option and takes
the matter to the UNSC, Turkey could well find itself squished between
Iran and the United States.
Importance Of White House
When you look at the other topics apart from those ones you can put
another tick in the plus column for Turkey with Obama's support for
the Kurdish overture and his unambiguous words of support regarding
terrorism. Visits to the White House have always been meetings that
bolster a Turkish leader's political standing. In this respect it may
be said that Erdogan is going to return to Turkey this time with his
sails filled by the winds of Obama's strong support.
[translated from Turkish]