Turkey Spurns US Calls for Delay, PM Will Visit Gaza
No Change to Plans for May Visit
Despite calls from the United States to delay the visit indefinitely, Turkey says that the travel plans of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are unchanged, and he will visit the Gaza Strip in May.
Analysts say that Erdogan’s visit is driven primarily by an attempt to improve his political standing domestically, facing a voting public that is not at all sold on recent attempts to broker a solution to the long-standing Kurdish conflict.
Secretary of State John Kerry told Erdogan that visiting the Gaza Strip would “threaten” the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Since those talks aren’t going on anyhow, and there is no sign of them starting any time soon, the complaint was dismissed pretty quickly.
Erdogan has been talking up a possible visit to Gaza since the Mavi Marmara killings in 2010, but the logistics of such a visit remain difficult. It may be more readily done, however, after Qatar’s emir made a similar visit in October.
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PEACE EVER AFTER
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:51 pm
God bless the Turks . Finally a country willing to stand up to the Zionist.
curmudgeonvt
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:03 pm
Good for him…It's a bout time foreign leaders started standing up to the US bullies. Maybe Turkey will even get tired of having the war criminals basing their strike forces on Turkish land and using Turkish airspace and toss them out…maybe…
leftwingdropout
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Kerry is full of it and so is Erdogan…peace talks. please.
Israel and Turkey are hand in hand, doing trade long term, never compromised. the biggest thing that came out of recent years that showed strife was when Israel motioned it would stop blocking recognition of the Armenian Genocide after Erdogan placed Turk flags on a flotillas sent to Gaza. This is all peacock-strutting
that's right folks, welcome to big canard: turkey and israel relations are "tense"..what a joke. Israel -denies the Armenian Genocide and Turkey gives legitimacy to Israeli sovereignty.. And now, the two countries are trying to undercut Syria and Cyprus on Mediterranean gas fields. Hell, Israel is doing weapons, light-duty mil vehicles trade with Azerbaijan (Turks) setting up a political office in Baku…it's all very cozy. And Azeri-Turks and Ankara are tied at the hip….
Armenian Genocide Denial day April 24..two days away. Israel and Turkey and US will veto recognition at the UN…again… But I digress.
mojo
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:26 pm
I believe this man when he starts taking down the NATO flag and replacing it wit the Turkish flag.., I believe this man when he stop exporting terrorist to Syria, I believe this man when he confront that Danish Ratt Mussen telling him to hell with EU and nato Neo fascism.., turkey wants to remain independent.
Haha
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:46 pm
And the Zionist pariah will allow this face saving venture as long as their little delusional Sultan of the "neo-ottoman empire" keep killing Syrians and whichever non-jews du jour, they pick for them. But don't expect anyone else than western corporate propaganda to buy it…
john g
April 22nd, 2013 at 11:33 pm
I wouldn't trust Erdogan as far as I could throw him.
blutopie
April 23rd, 2013 at 5:08 am
The Israelis are always using the US to slowroll the US – everything to delay another year, another decade, to keep Apartheid afloat
Israel is like the Innkeeper of Les Mis
Roger Lafontaine
April 23rd, 2013 at 7:52 am
His visit will be a 'gesture' nothing more. A gesture is like building a bridge across an abyss… with nothing on the other side. It's one-sided and always comes up short. But it looks hopeful for a day or two.
Loose Savage
April 23rd, 2013 at 12:25 pm
The lapel pin means that he works for the .01%.
Pash
April 23rd, 2013 at 2:54 pm
Good reporting. Thanks.
JoaoAlfaiate
April 23rd, 2013 at 7:04 pm
Kerry compared the Boston bombs to the Mavi Marmara murders; I find it amazing that he's still on the payroll. Trip to the woodshed coming soon.