Tweet
TURKISH FM: HAMAS WAS READY TO RECOGNIZE ISRAEL
Cihan News Agency (CNA), Turkey
January 12, 2015 Monday
Ä°STANBUL (CÄ°HAN)- Hamas, a Palestinian group governing Gaza, had
reached a point of recognizing Israel but reconciliation efforts
failed after Turkey's relations with Israel broken down, Foreign
Minister Mevlut CavuÅ~_oglu said on Monday.
CavuÅ~_oglu, in remarks published on the website of the state Anadolu
news agency, defended the Turkish government's dialogue with Hamas,
despite US criticism, insisting that even the opponents of Hamas
agree that it should be part of any talks on the resolution of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Then why are you opposing Turkey's dialogue with Hamas in this
regard? If our relations [with Israel] had not deteriorated, Hamas was
going to recognize Israel in the event of a two-state solution," he
said at a meeting with Anadolu editors. "Unfortunately, the settlement
process failed."
Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended military ties
after Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and one Turkish American on
an aid ship destined to blockaded Gaza in May 2010. In 2013, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to then Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a US-brokered deal, but relations have not
normalized since then.
The US has expressed concerns over Turkish ties with Hamas, designated
by Washington as a terrorist organization, after Hamas leader Khaled
Mashaal paid a surprise visit to Turkey and attended a congress of
the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Dec. 27. News
reports earlier this month said Mashaal had left Qatar and was on
his way to Turkey, although Hamas denied such reports.
'Parallel structure cooperating with anti-Turkey circles on Armenian
issue'
CavuÅ~_oglu also repeated accusations by President Erdogan and
the government against the "parallel structure," a term invented by
Erdogan to first refer to alleged followers of Turkish-Islamic scholar
Fethullah Gulen in the state bureaucracy but then later expanded to
describe Gulen's Hizmet movement.
CavuÅ~_oglu this time alleged that the "parallel structure" has been
mobilized to "defame and humiliate" Turkey at every opportunity,
including when it comes to Armenian claims of genocide at the hands
of the late Ottoman Empire, which constitute a foreign policy headache
for Turkey.
"The parallel structure is working against Turkey even on the Armenian
issue. They cooperate with all elements who work against Turkey,"
he said.
Turkey categorically denies claims that the mass killings of Armenians
amount to genocide, saying both the death toll given by Armenians --
1.5 million Armenians -- is inflated and that people from both sides
were killed because Armenians revolted against the Ottoman army in
collaboration with the Russian forces then invading eastern Anatolia.
Cihan News Agency (CNA), Turkey
January 12, 2015 Monday
Ä°STANBUL (CÄ°HAN)- Hamas, a Palestinian group governing Gaza, had
reached a point of recognizing Israel but reconciliation efforts
failed after Turkey's relations with Israel broken down, Foreign
Minister Mevlut CavuÅ~_oglu said on Monday.
CavuÅ~_oglu, in remarks published on the website of the state Anadolu
news agency, defended the Turkish government's dialogue with Hamas,
despite US criticism, insisting that even the opponents of Hamas
agree that it should be part of any talks on the resolution of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Then why are you opposing Turkey's dialogue with Hamas in this
regard? If our relations [with Israel] had not deteriorated, Hamas was
going to recognize Israel in the event of a two-state solution," he
said at a meeting with Anadolu editors. "Unfortunately, the settlement
process failed."
Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended military ties
after Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and one Turkish American on
an aid ship destined to blockaded Gaza in May 2010. In 2013, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to then Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a US-brokered deal, but relations have not
normalized since then.
The US has expressed concerns over Turkish ties with Hamas, designated
by Washington as a terrorist organization, after Hamas leader Khaled
Mashaal paid a surprise visit to Turkey and attended a congress of
the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Dec. 27. News
reports earlier this month said Mashaal had left Qatar and was on
his way to Turkey, although Hamas denied such reports.
'Parallel structure cooperating with anti-Turkey circles on Armenian
issue'
CavuÅ~_oglu also repeated accusations by President Erdogan and
the government against the "parallel structure," a term invented by
Erdogan to first refer to alleged followers of Turkish-Islamic scholar
Fethullah Gulen in the state bureaucracy but then later expanded to
describe Gulen's Hizmet movement.
CavuÅ~_oglu this time alleged that the "parallel structure" has been
mobilized to "defame and humiliate" Turkey at every opportunity,
including when it comes to Armenian claims of genocide at the hands
of the late Ottoman Empire, which constitute a foreign policy headache
for Turkey.
"The parallel structure is working against Turkey even on the Armenian
issue. They cooperate with all elements who work against Turkey,"
he said.
Turkey categorically denies claims that the mass killings of Armenians
amount to genocide, saying both the death toll given by Armenians --
1.5 million Armenians -- is inflated and that people from both sides
were killed because Armenians revolted against the Ottoman army in
collaboration with the Russian forces then invading eastern Anatolia.