Before their meeting in Ankara Wednesday it was possible to imagine that Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his nominal Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would only exchange pleasantries and fulsome praise, hailing the start of a “historic” new era between their countries. The war in Ukraine, however, gave them something real to talk about.
Russia and Ukraine are Turkey’s biggest sources of tourists, at about 4.5 million and 2 million a year
Turkey and Israel are each walking a tightrope that threatens to coil into a noise around its neck. Each has weighty interests in maintaining good relations with Russia, and even more so with Europe and with the United States. Turkey was ahead of Israel in censuring the Russian invasion – Israel waited until the United Nations General Assembly session to join the international condemnation – but Erdogan and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett employed a similar tactic to avoid coming down clearly on one side. Both stood at the starting line of the race to mediate between Russia and Ukraine as if they led neutral states that met the standard for “honest broker,” whose only interest is to make peace.
Read more at
Could the Ukraine war end Turkey's dependence on Russia? - Middle East News - Haaretz.com
No comments:
Post a Comment