Tuesday, June 28, 2016

What is Behind Turkey’s Recent Diplomatic Push?

 
By Bayraktar Bora

June 27 was a day of dramatic change in Turkish Foreign policy.

At noon, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced a deal with Israel, normalising relations after the big rift over Gaza and the flotilla crisis of 2010.

While Turkey was busy discussing this move, the Kremlin announced a letter from Turkish President Erdogan conveying his condolences to the family of the pilot who was killed in action on November 24, 2015 by the Turkish Air Force. This was regarded as an “apology” and endorsed by Russia. Turkey’s president will talk to his Russian counterpart over the phone for the first time since last November.
 
These two diplomatic gestures came on the same day, and present a paradigm shift in Turkish foreign policy, from idealism to pragmatism. 

Breaking isolation 

Turkey and Israel have long been discussing ways to normalise relations. In March 2013, Israel’s Prime Minister apologised for the killing of nine activists on the Mavi Marmara ship in 2010, accepting to pay compensation to the families of the victims. But Turkey’s third demand was hard to swallow for Israelis: the removal of the Gaza blockade. It took three years for Turkey to accept this reality, and Ankara agreed on easing the Gaza embargo instead of removing it.  

Click here for the full article. 

Source: euronews.

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