Dec 22 2020 03:41 Gmt+3
Last Updated On: Dec 22 2020 03:44 Gmt+3
As Turkey reaches levels of international isolation unseen since the 1974 invasion of Cyprus, it should not rely on Qatar to replace its traditional allies, wrote Simon Waldman, an associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, in an article he penned for Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Ankara’s relations have faltered with the United States and the European Union, which have both imposed sanctions over the purchase of Russian-made S-400 missile defence systems and Turkey’s actions in the eastern Mediterranean. It has further issues with Moscow and Tehran, Waldman said.
However, Turkey’s ties with Qatar may prove to be temperamental as well, as the Gulf country’s oil companies are also connected to American petroleum giants.
Wednesday, 16 December, 2020 - 06:15
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan talks to media following the Friday prayers in Istanbul, Turkey, December 11, 2020. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS Asharq Al-Awsat
Turkey condemned US sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defenses as a “grave mistake” and threatened to retaliate over a move it said would harm ties between the NATO allies.
Washington imposed the long-anticipated sanctions on Turkey’s top defense procurement and development body, its chairman and three other employees. Analysts said the targeted move would mostly spare the broader Turkish economy.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry called the decision “inexplicable” given that Washington repeatedly rejected Ankara’s offer to form a joint working group to allay US concerns that the S-400s threatened NATO defenses.
BICOM
16th December 2020
The Guardian report on the decision by Israel’s Supreme Court to extradite Malka Leifer to Australia. Leifer is a former principal accused of sexually abusing girls at a Melbourne school and is wanted on 74 sexual assault charges. She fled to Israel in 2008 after allegations against her surfaced. Australia formally requested her extradition six years ago, but the case dragged on for several years, leading to straining relations between Israel and Australia. Israel’s Justice Minister, Avi Nissenkorn, welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court and wrote on twitter “After long and torturous years, the time has come to do justice to Leifer’s victims. I intend to sign the extradition order without delay.”
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