Anger of Turkish PM and answer that should be given by Olmert

Following the harsh criticism of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan over the Gaza attacks, some Israeli newspapers related Erdogan’s anger to  Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s visit to Turkey which took place just a couple of days before the Gaza assault. Israeli papers alleged that Erdogan was angry at Olmert for not letting him know about the Gaza offensive.  Â

 

These reports are only partly true. Yes, Erdogan’s anger has also to do with Olmert’s visit. But he is not angry about the fact that he was not told before hand about the offensive. Turkish leaders are not that naive to expect to be informed about a military offensive by even an ally.

 

What Erdogan is upset about is the fact that he asserted efforts to advance the talks between Syria and Israel during Olmert’s visit, only to discover that the five hour long negotiations took place for nothing. Erdogan was personally offended by the fact that he mediated a deal, which Israel knew ahead of time, would be blown out by the offensive. This was certainly a humiliation as far as Turkey’s standing vis a vis Syria is concerned.

 

That’s why he talked about a "confidence problem" when asked to comment about Olmert’s remarks that he did not inform anybody about the offensive. Read his remarks as "how can I mediate, and from time to time try to convince the Syrians to take a specific step, when I know that I might be let down by Israel."

 

Erdogan came under fire in Turkey for his harsh criticism against Israel. Many raised this very legitimate question: "How can Turkey be an honest broker, when it has been so fiercely critical of one of the sides."

 

But this is equally a legitimate question: "How Turkey can be an honest broker, when one of the sides has a record of deceiving?"