Word: ankara
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...Turkish-Israeli relations are still anchored by military cooperation, as they have been since the 1950s. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is due to visit Ankara next week, hoping to reinforce strategic ties and negotiate deals for Israel's military industries, which already have contracts worth more than $1 billion to supply Turkey. Meanwhile, a Turkish delegation is currently in Israel to wrap up the purchase of 10 Heron drones. "Defense ties have become the safety valve for bilateral relations," says Candar. "They prevent a complete breakdown. That doesn't change the fact that there has been a significant structural...
...Westerwelle also opened up a can of worms last week by raising the controversial issue of Turkey's E.U. membership bid while on a trip to Ankara. The Foreign Minister voiced support for the country's accession talks - stalled for years by opposition from Germany and France - by saying it was in Germany's interests to forge close links between Turkey and the E.U. The CSU hit back immediately by reiterating its opposition to Turkey's E.U. membership, saying it was ready to offer a "privileged partnership" to Ankara instead. In the past, Merkel has backed a privileged partnership instead...
...week began with Turkey needlessly slapped in the face, but by Wednesday, it was the turn of Israel's Foreign Ministry to suffer a public humiliation, being forced to grovel for Ankara to accept its apology. "Those who thought that nominating Lieberman to be Foreign Minister would not create problems for Israel were once more shown to be mistaken," a senior Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity told TIME. "It was a disgrace to us all as Israelis." The Israel-Turkey relationship looks likely to absorb this week's contretemps, with neither side looking to escalate. On both sides...
Turkey maintains some 35,000 troops in the north but the Turkish government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recognizes that divided Cyprus is a potential embarrassment to its new-found ambitions to become a regional power. It also threatens to derail Ankara's long-standing -albeit slow-moving - bid to join the European Union. The E.U. has frozen discussions on eight of the 35 policy chapters towards membership since December 2006 to punish the Turks for not opening their ports and airspace to Cypriot vessels as required. At a summit last week, the E.U. agreed to open just...
...There are also differences over how to deal with Iran's nuclear program. Although Turkish diplomats insist that Ankara is opposed to any development of nuclear weapons in neighboring Iran, Erdogan has in recent months strengthened diplomatic and trade ties with Tehran, which is a key gas supplier to Turkey. The Turks abstained last month in a U.N. vote condemning Iran's nuclear activities, despite China and Russia's support for it. Erdogan has also criticized Western leaders for turning a blind eye to Israel, widely seen as the Middle East's only nuclear power - albeit an undeclared one. Turkey...