Turkey and Iran are opposed to the establishment of a Kurdish state or, at the least, a largely autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq as sought by Israel. #msg-3524029
Both Turkey and Iran have launched separate operations against the Kurdish Workers' Party or (PKK) but deny an alliance. #msg-3515579
If Turkey decides to form an allegiance with Iran this could have major implications for Bush’s Greater Middle East agenda. The GME includes all Arab countries but also Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and Israel. The largest part of the GME population is Sunni and Shiite,
-Am
Iran Drops Price of Natural Gas to Turkey
07.10.2004 Saturday
Iran announced that it would drop the price of natural gas that it sells to Turkey on the condition that Turkey helps facilitate the transportion of Iranian gas to Europe. The discount was agreed upon last week in Turkey during meetings with Iranian Oil Minister Bijen Namdar Zengene.
Iran National Gas Exports Manager Rukniddin Jawadi disclosed that Turkey had been asking for a decrease in the prices for a long time. Jawadi acknowledged the fact that the new gas reserves found in southern Iran played an important role in the price reduction, although there are still strings attached. Jawadi pointed out that the new prices would only be put into effect if Turkey agreed to help Iran export gas to Europe.
Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to go to Iran in late July. It is reported that the decrease of the gas price and the transportation of Iranian gas via Turkey would be among the main topics to be discussed by Erdogan and Iranian officials.
Jewish Lobby Aids Turkey in Armenian Genocide Denial
"I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915." Henry Morgenthau, Sr. US Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
Leading U.S. daily the Chicago Tribune put the relationship between Turkey and Israel under scrutiny in an article published over the weekend.
Wednesday, July 21 2004 @ 07:28 AM Central Daylight Time
The article, by Catherine Collins, emphasized that the relations between "the two allies in the Middle East" have grown strained over Israel's actions against the Palestinians and cited reports alleging that Israeli military officers were training Kurdish commandos who want to establish an independent nation.
Noting that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had not met with visiting Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week due his being on vacation, the article emphasized that Erdogan's holiday took place at a time when the bilateral relations have frayed. 'The only secular democracies in the Middle East'
Collins drew attention to the points in common between the two countries, adding that they had become close friends due to mutual need.
"As the only secular democracies in the Middle East, Turkey and Israel have forged a friendship of mutual need and support. Both define themselves as more Western -- culturally, politically and economically -- than Middle Eastern. Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel in 1948, and ties between the two countries have blossomed in recent years," said the article. Erdogan's reaction against Israeli policies
The article mentioned Erdogan's recent reaction to Israeli policies in which he characterized Sharon government policies as "inhumane" and accused Israel of "state-sponsored terrorism."
Israeli actions against the Palestinians began with Israel's assassination in March of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, a Hamas spiritual leader.
According to the article, Israeli actions against the Palestinians sparked a public reaction in Turkey, as well. "The public is increasingly alienated by what they see as Israel's severe steps against Muslims in the West Bank and Gaza."
However, it noted that the harsh reaction evinced by Erdogan was not aimed at the Israeli people but at the Israeli government, as Erdogan emphasized at a press conference.
The article also mentioned remarks made by the Turkish Foreign Ministry that the relationship with Israel had not changed and remained important, characterizing the statement as a move to "avoid going too far in angering Israel and its main ally, the United States." Close military, trade ties
The article emphasized the close trade and military ties between the two countries.
"Ties between the nations include Turkey's spending $3 billion on Israeli military hardware since 1996. They conduct regular joint military exercises, and Turkey allows Israeli fighter pilots to train in its airspace. Most of their bilateral trade is in the private sector and reached a record $1.25 billion last year. Trade is expected to increase again this year to $1.5 billion. And Turkey is considered the favorite destination for Israeli tourists," it said. 'Turkey's lobbying effort in US relies on Jewish lobby'
"In exchange for the economic and military ties, Turkey has supplemented its notoriously weak lobbying effort in the U.S. by relying on the influential Jewish lobby," the article stated.
"Most prominently, Jewish-American groups have helped Turkey battle against efforts by Armenian-Americans to declare the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Turkish Armenians in the early 20th Century a genocide," it added.
The Armenians claim that during the Ottoman Empire their ancestors were executed for allegedly helping the invading Russian army during World War I. Turkey, the heir of the Ottoman Empire, rejects the genocide claim, insisting that Armenians were killed in civil unrest during the collapse of the empire.
Turkey has fought hard to block international attempts to raise the issue of the alleged Armenian genocide, while Armenia -- with its 7-million-strong diaspora -- has been pressing for international recognition of the so-called genocide.
PM: Border Gates will Open if Genocide Campaigns End "The Armenian Diaspora is making a mistake by putting the so-called Armenian genocide on the agenda," said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday in response to a question from a member of the Commission of Foreign Affairs in the French Parliament about what Turkey thinks of the Armenian issue. "Progress on the relationship is difficult to make so long as the campaigns continue. The border gates will not be opened unless the campaigns are ended," emphasized Erdogan. The Prime Minister also reminded that Yerevan does not recognize the borders of Turkey. Erdogan is currently in the middle of a three-day official visit to France. 07.21.2004 Ali Ihsan Aydin Paris
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