Letters to the International Herald Tribune
Turkey, a Regional Mediator
Published: May 1, 2011
Regarding “The revolution’s missing peace,” (Views, April 22): There could be several reasons why President Abdullah Gul of Turkey would like his government to help Israel in reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians and the Arab world.
Turkey has already established itself as a so-called soft-power giant of the Middle East. The country is anchored to the Arab world by common Islamic values, to Russia by pragmatic cooperation, and to the West by its membership in NATO, but not to the generally ineffective foreign policy of the European Union.
Moreover, progress on achieving a peace settlement would qualify Turkey to be mediator on other political issues affecting the security and prosperity of a wider region — notably, the issues of the future governance of Libya and Syria, Iran’s nuclear program, the complex problems in the Caucasus, and the Afghanistan exit strategy.
It is to be hoped that Israel and the United States will consider Mr. Gul’s proposal.
Xiao Ling, Singapore
via Turkey, a Regional Mediator – NYTimes.com.
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