’Turkey pushed into international isolation’

Criticizing Israel and projecting a pro-Hamas stance is pushing Turkey into isolation in the international arena, Turkey’s former ambassador to Washington said in an interview with daily Milliyet published yesterday.Â

Stating that defending the Palestinian people and defending Hamas was not the same thing, LoÄŸoÄŸlu said being closer to Hamas would mean losing the role of mediator between Hamas and Fatah. "If Turkey was able to preserve its previous distance to Hamas and El Fetih it would be better for everyone. But right now Turkey is situated right next to Hamas and against Israel and Fatah," he noted.

Loğoğlu said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had failed to keep a balance in his criticism of Israel and Turkey’s role as mediator in the Middle East had been damaged, although not destroyed. Furthermore, Erdoğan’s statements led to disappointment within Jewish lobby groups, he said.

Hamas not political party

"The Jewish lobby is the strongest in the United States and the only one supporting Turkey. Therefore, the letter of disappointment sent to ErdoÄŸan is of great importance in terms of highlighting the future of ties," LoÄŸoÄŸlu said.

When asked about Prime Minister Erdoğan’s statement that Hamas was a democratically elected government, Loğoğlu said he did not think Hamas was a political party. "A political party seeks to reach its goals through political means. Hamas on the other hand is a party and a terrorist organization," he said.

Commenting on remarks that Turkish foreign policy had taken a new course under the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Loğoğlu said this was nothing new. "The policy of zero problem with neighbors (voiced by the prime minister’s adviser Ahmet Davutoğlu) is not new in Turkey. What's more, all the problems, including the Cyprus issue, the Aegean problem and the problems with Armenia, remain unsolved," he said.