Recep Tayyip Erdogan: "I believe the United States feels the importance of Turkey"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's ties with Israel were severely strained by Turkish prime minister Erdogan's fierce criticism of the recent bombardment of Gaza, which left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead. Relations soured further after he stormed out of a debate at the world economic forum in Davos after clashing angrily with the Israeli president, Shimon Peres. The gesture was widely acclaimed in Turkey and throughout the Muslim world but was condemned in Israel, where Erdogan was seen as an apologist for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, with which his government has cultivated ties.



Recep Tayyip Erdogan said an Israeli-Palestinian settlement had to include Hamas, which he called the party of "change and reform". He also condemned Israel's recent onslaught as disproportionate. "Hamas doesn't have any planes. Hamas doesn't have any tanks or artillery, and with the use of disproportionate force Gaza was being put under fire," he said. "One thousand, one hundred and 30people have died. We have more than 5,500 injured. Who is going to ask: what has happened here and who is going to pay the price for this?"



However, Erdogan dismissed fears that the US pro-Israel lobby would retaliate by lifting its opposition to a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide claims. During last year's US presidential election campaign, Obama and his vice-president, Joe Biden, voiced support for the resolution.

But Erdogan said: "I believe the United States feels and knows the importance of Turkey within the region more than some people who do not understand this." According to him, Armenian Genocide is not an issue that can affect Turkey-American relations in a very strong way. I don't believe the US Congress would take a decision based on emotions. It should be left to historians."



Allegations by the Armenian government and Diaspora about the fate of their people under the Ottoman empire have long been one of Turkish society's biggest taboos. Turkey vehemently disputes Armenian claims that up to 1.5 million were deliberately killed in a program amounting to genocide. Officials say the death toll was much lower and a result of inter-ethnic clashes in which many Turks also died. Turkey has called for a historical commission to examine the issue and has recently pursued rapprochement with Armenia, with which it has no diplomatic ties, Guardian reports.