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U.S. Puts Forth Tough Conditions To Turkey
Hakob Badalyan, Political Commentator
Comments - 28 July 2014, 13:01
After 2010 the United States and Turkey reached quite important
agreements on a series of foreign political, including geopolitical
issues, which appears an important factor of international, especially
regional politics.
It is interesting that during the same period the analytical materials
of leading think-tanks of the United States and Europe do not cover
thoroughly the "Turkish topic", primarily the U.S.-Turkish
relationship. There are articles that reflect the Turkish policy on
the Near East, Turkish-French relations and Turkish relations with
other European states but the U.S.-Turkish relations have not been
deeply revealed.
Analysis based on over 100 materials of American and European analysts
did not allow drawing expected and substantial conclusions.
Interaction with different U.S. and European experts demonstrated that
the U.S.-Turkish relations remain a relatively closed topic.
These experts are partly not ready to review the issues that interest
us and are partly uninformed. Finding out the character and content of
agreements between the United States and Turkey at this stage requires
mostly an intuitive review, as well as occurrence of the necessary
signs to define one condition or another of general and specific
agreements. Besides this approach, a stage by stage comparative
analysis of different events and processes is important.
It should be noted that during the past years, in 2003-2011 which is
quite a long time, the United States apparently had an unpublished and
controllable agreement over implementation of a policy on Turkey and
analytical publications on the Turkish topic. The impression was that
the U.S. administration, both Republican and Democratic, was not
interested in restraining the qualified discourse in Washington over
the Turkish topic though Turkey initiated the discussion, fearing that
the issues relating to it would be leveled and disappear from the
political arena.
The Bush administration ignored Turkey toughly and demonstratively,
and the Obama administration preferred "softer forms" of this
position, realizing that Turkey has already "matured" to return under
the U.S. control, a number of steps were taken to resolve different
problems and preparations for normalization of relations were
underway.
Over the past years the United States conducted a policy of "soft
containment" of Turkish foreign political ambitions, leaving
opportunities for relatively painless "return" into the traditional
U.S.-Turkish relations. The United States did not allow significant
strengthening of the Turkish influence over Iraq and the Near East,
overall prevented closer rapprochement of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as
well as thwarted development of relations between Turkey and Iran.
Analogically, the political rapprochement of Turkey and Iran was
prevented, creating problematic situations in regard to this
objective.
The policy of France and Germany on Turkey, which has led to maximum
distance and lack of any alignment between Turkey and the leading
European states, as well as the European Union, favors the United
States and the United Kingdom. The European project of Turkey is
practically complete, at this stage the Europeans do not have any
levers to influence Turkey and are reluctant to have any necessity to
use such levers. The policy of France, Germany and all the other
European states, including the United Kingdom on Turkey has been
"economized". As a result, Turkey faced the United States with famous
contribution by the United Kingdom.
Having found itself in tight geopolitical blockade and isolation,
Turkey has not just returned to former relations with the United
States but also control by the latter.
The United States has achieved what worried it the most, i.e. Turkey
has given up autonomous and independent regional politics, agrees its
regional politics with the United States, which is illustrated by the
Syrian example.
Turkey is trying to conduct a more independent policy on Russia but
apparently it will not succeed. The Russian dimension of the Turkish
policy is principal to the United States, and the Americans are trying
to avoid unexpected developments.
At the same time, there are signs that the Turkish topic stops being
delicate in the relations between the United States and Turkey though
both sides are trying not to break the existing agreements on
political matters. The current U.S. administration and the political
circles have to find out how crucial the discussion on the Turkish
topic may be.
The behavior of the old partner and ally of the United States in NATO
remains defiant, especially in regard to the problems of regional
politics and relations with the Atlantic alliance. Ahead of the next
NATO summit in Cardiff Turkey has a series of agreements with the
United States and European partners but according to some information,
Ankara has certain intentions to agitate the summit, and the Americans
understand very well that these Turkish initiatives pursue certain
goals.
Turkey's claims to its partners, primarily the United States, over the
problems of the Near East and other regional issues continue.
Therefore, a controversial situation has occurred. For example, the
United States and Turkey seem to have definite agreements on
non-interference of Turkey in the Karabakh issue, non-intervention in
the next possible war in Karabakh as well as containment and
prevention of the Azerbaijani aggression towards Armenia.
This is an important sign that the United States and Turkey have
serious agreements but can they be viewed as long-term? Now the United
States has taken measures to isolate Turkey from Russia but there are
no signals as to whether it was a success.
We think this policy means not only isolation, i.e. a non-active role
in the isolation of Russia but non-intervention of Turkey in the
processes between the West and Russia. In other words, there is hope
that this U.S. policy bears a systemic character though in the modern
world "systemic" has lost its significance.
In any case, changes in the U.S. foreign policy are reflected in this
regional aspect. Hence, the period of "delicacy" in the U.S.-Turkish
relations has passed, and it is time for more specific and tough
relations.
- See more at: http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/32776#sthash.METPes52.dpuf
Hakob Badalyan, Political Commentator
Comments - 28 July 2014, 13:01
After 2010 the United States and Turkey reached quite important
agreements on a series of foreign political, including geopolitical
issues, which appears an important factor of international, especially
regional politics.
It is interesting that during the same period the analytical materials
of leading think-tanks of the United States and Europe do not cover
thoroughly the "Turkish topic", primarily the U.S.-Turkish
relationship. There are articles that reflect the Turkish policy on
the Near East, Turkish-French relations and Turkish relations with
other European states but the U.S.-Turkish relations have not been
deeply revealed.
Analysis based on over 100 materials of American and European analysts
did not allow drawing expected and substantial conclusions.
Interaction with different U.S. and European experts demonstrated that
the U.S.-Turkish relations remain a relatively closed topic.
These experts are partly not ready to review the issues that interest
us and are partly uninformed. Finding out the character and content of
agreements between the United States and Turkey at this stage requires
mostly an intuitive review, as well as occurrence of the necessary
signs to define one condition or another of general and specific
agreements. Besides this approach, a stage by stage comparative
analysis of different events and processes is important.
It should be noted that during the past years, in 2003-2011 which is
quite a long time, the United States apparently had an unpublished and
controllable agreement over implementation of a policy on Turkey and
analytical publications on the Turkish topic. The impression was that
the U.S. administration, both Republican and Democratic, was not
interested in restraining the qualified discourse in Washington over
the Turkish topic though Turkey initiated the discussion, fearing that
the issues relating to it would be leveled and disappear from the
political arena.
The Bush administration ignored Turkey toughly and demonstratively,
and the Obama administration preferred "softer forms" of this
position, realizing that Turkey has already "matured" to return under
the U.S. control, a number of steps were taken to resolve different
problems and preparations for normalization of relations were
underway.
Over the past years the United States conducted a policy of "soft
containment" of Turkish foreign political ambitions, leaving
opportunities for relatively painless "return" into the traditional
U.S.-Turkish relations. The United States did not allow significant
strengthening of the Turkish influence over Iraq and the Near East,
overall prevented closer rapprochement of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as
well as thwarted development of relations between Turkey and Iran.
Analogically, the political rapprochement of Turkey and Iran was
prevented, creating problematic situations in regard to this
objective.
The policy of France and Germany on Turkey, which has led to maximum
distance and lack of any alignment between Turkey and the leading
European states, as well as the European Union, favors the United
States and the United Kingdom. The European project of Turkey is
practically complete, at this stage the Europeans do not have any
levers to influence Turkey and are reluctant to have any necessity to
use such levers. The policy of France, Germany and all the other
European states, including the United Kingdom on Turkey has been
"economized". As a result, Turkey faced the United States with famous
contribution by the United Kingdom.
Having found itself in tight geopolitical blockade and isolation,
Turkey has not just returned to former relations with the United
States but also control by the latter.
The United States has achieved what worried it the most, i.e. Turkey
has given up autonomous and independent regional politics, agrees its
regional politics with the United States, which is illustrated by the
Syrian example.
Turkey is trying to conduct a more independent policy on Russia but
apparently it will not succeed. The Russian dimension of the Turkish
policy is principal to the United States, and the Americans are trying
to avoid unexpected developments.
At the same time, there are signs that the Turkish topic stops being
delicate in the relations between the United States and Turkey though
both sides are trying not to break the existing agreements on
political matters. The current U.S. administration and the political
circles have to find out how crucial the discussion on the Turkish
topic may be.
The behavior of the old partner and ally of the United States in NATO
remains defiant, especially in regard to the problems of regional
politics and relations with the Atlantic alliance. Ahead of the next
NATO summit in Cardiff Turkey has a series of agreements with the
United States and European partners but according to some information,
Ankara has certain intentions to agitate the summit, and the Americans
understand very well that these Turkish initiatives pursue certain
goals.
Turkey's claims to its partners, primarily the United States, over the
problems of the Near East and other regional issues continue.
Therefore, a controversial situation has occurred. For example, the
United States and Turkey seem to have definite agreements on
non-interference of Turkey in the Karabakh issue, non-intervention in
the next possible war in Karabakh as well as containment and
prevention of the Azerbaijani aggression towards Armenia.
This is an important sign that the United States and Turkey have
serious agreements but can they be viewed as long-term? Now the United
States has taken measures to isolate Turkey from Russia but there are
no signals as to whether it was a success.
We think this policy means not only isolation, i.e. a non-active role
in the isolation of Russia but non-intervention of Turkey in the
processes between the West and Russia. In other words, there is hope
that this U.S. policy bears a systemic character though in the modern
world "systemic" has lost its significance.
In any case, changes in the U.S. foreign policy are reflected in this
regional aspect. Hence, the period of "delicacy" in the U.S.-Turkish
relations has passed, and it is time for more specific and tough
relations.
- See more at: http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/32776#sthash.METPes52.dpuf