Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Diplomatic 'success' may backfire on Obama

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Diplomatic 'success' may backfire on Obama

    World Net Daily
    Nov 7 2009


    Diplomatic 'success' may backfire on Obama
    Analysts worry 'lack of administration vision plays into Russian hands'

    Posted: November 07, 2009
    12:50 am Eastern


    Editor's Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's
    G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of
    WND. Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95
    per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the
    complete reports.

    TBILISI, Georgia ` The "success" of Turkey's diplomatic recognition of
    Armenia after almost a century of animosity dating back to the Ottoman
    Empire may backfire on the U.S., analysts have said in a report from
    Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

    The result could be, security experts agree, a dramatic lessening of
    influence on the part of the U.S. and the European Union in the
    critical South Caucasus and Central Asia regions.

    That's because the new relationship between Turkey and Armenia is
    having devastating effects on Turkey's relationship with Armenia's
    arch-rival, Azerbaijan, on which Ankara relies for a major source of
    its oil and natural gas.

    Armenia and Turkey resumed diplomatic relations and reopened their
    border after almost a century of opposition stemming from the mass
    killing of tens of thousands of Armenians from 1915 to 1918 by the
    Ottoman Empire. Modern Turkey emerged from the Ottoman Empire into a
    secular state after World War I.

    In one sense, the U.S. and EU may have outdone themselves in pressing
    Turkey to normalize relations with Armenia which has a separate,
    deep-seated dispute with Azerbaijan over its Karabakh region.

    Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about
    critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah's G2
    Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and
    published by the founder of WND.

    Karabakh is an enclave of predominantly Armenian heritage inside
    Azerbaijan that seeks to join with Armenia.

    Now Turkey, even though it has recognized Armenia diplomatically and
    reopened border crossings, remains committed to ending the Armenian
    occupation of Karabakh.

    "Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is as important for Turkey as its
    own," said Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. "Turkey will
    continue to advocate Azerbaijan's rights at every diplomatic stage."

    Security analysts view the current rupture in the longstanding
    strategic partnership between Turkey and Azerbaijan as a serious
    mistake by the U.S., EU and Turkey.

    "This geopolitical miscalculation on the part of Turkish, EU and U.S.
    officials, all of whom have actively pushed for a one-sided
    normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations without the consideration
    of Azerbaijan's interests and the resolution of the Karabakh conflict,
    will see a boomerang effect," according to Fariz Ismailzade of the
    think-tank Jamestown Foundation.

    "This partnership (between Turkey and Azerbaijan) has been the
    backbone of East-West energy and its future transportation corridors,
    security, political and geostrategic balance in the region as well as
    the overall Turkish or Western entrance into the Caspian region,"
    Ismailzade said.

    In recent weeks, the Turkish-Azerbaijani split also has had a serious
    impact on Turkey's long-range security goal of becoming an energy hub
    for Europe.

    Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev recently refused to accept Turkish
    President Abdullah Gul's invitation to attend the recent U.N.
    conference on Istanbul on "Alliance of Civilizations."

    http://www.wnd.com/index.php ?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115266
Working...
X