BY YASIN DOGAN
YENI SAFAK- Last week Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President George W. Bush held a short meeting at the NATO summit in Brussels. As far as we know, Erdogan neither asked to see Bush nor sought an appointment with him. Rather, their meeting was an unplanned encounter.
It’s interesting that during his conversation with Erdogan, Bush didn’t say anything to address the recent tension between the two countries. He either was ignorant of the recent reports sparking tension between Washington and Ankara or just wanted to avoid talking about them.
It’s good to see that both leaders underscored that there is no problem between the two governments.
But what is all this about anyway? Is there a big crisis between the two countries, or are things being blown out of proportion by the media?
Erdogan harshly criticized the US’ operation in Fallujah, Israel’s Palestine policy and Washington’s inaction against the PKK. He even added that there’s nothing wrong with Iran using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Why did he say such things? There’s any number of reasons that come to mind:
1) To prevent possible further US operations in the region. If Washington decides to launch a military operation against Iran or Syria, the region would be plunged into even greater turbulence and chaos.
2) To block further US demands from Turkey.
3) To get something in return for his support to Washington.
In fact, Turkey has no desire for a serious crisis with the US. However, if Ankara criticizes something loudly, it’s because our leaders are very concerned about it. Moreover, it’s not just us but the entire world which is extremely concerned about the US’ Mideast policy. Washington certainly should be very well aware that anti-Americanism is rising worldwide. So the problem isn’t peculiar to Turkey.
Since Turkey is trying to become an important actor in the far corners of its region and establish good relations with both Russia and Syria, Washington also has its own concerns about Ankara. Therefore, Washington’s aim is probably to make Ankara feel more isolated and alone in the region to ensure that it doesn’t venture beyond the limits the Bush administration has in mind. Washington wants to see a more submissive Ankara. However, Ankara wants to see its future more clearly.
Both countries must act calmly in order to keep relations on the right track because they are currently cooperating with and supporting each other in many important areas and regions.