Israel: Erdogan's Davos behavior may ruin Turkey's EU chances

The public confrontation between President Shimon Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Davos Summit Thursday continued off the stage over the weekend as questions arose over whether Peres apologized to Erdogan for what the Turkish leader said was 'shouting'.

A senior political source in Israel also said that a private meeting between Peres and Erdogan that was scheduled to take place prior to the Davos panel they were both on was canceled at the last minute because of a Turkish request. The same source said it was probably canceled because the Turkish Prime Minister did want to give the impression that relations with Israel were business as usual.

The Foreign Ministry has learned that senior European Union diplomats were highly critical of the vociferous criticism Erdogan had leveled at Israel over the operation in Gaza and for his support of Hamas.

According to one report, senior European officials said, "Erdogan wants to be part of the European Union, but now he can forget about it."

Less than an hour after the confrontation between Peres and Erdogan at Davos, the president called the Turkish prime minister. The Turkish News Agency reported that Peres had apologized for raising his voice during the discussion. The President's Office denied that an apology was offered and noted that Peres was merely trying to emphasize that he had a great deal of respect for the Turkish Prime Minister and that he wanted to avoid a further escalation in the crisis in relations between the two.

Haaretz has learned that the President's Office denial regarding the apology created a great deal of dissatisfaction among the Erdogan entourage. The Turks responded in an unprecedented fashion, releasing the full transcript of the conversation between the two leaders to the official Turkish news agency. The Turkish version shows that Peres had said he was "sorry" about the incident, but his office reiterated their denial that an apology had been offered.

An Israeli source said that there is severe disappointment and frustration at the Turkish Foreign Office over the incidents of the past week and that there had been hope that the tension between the countries would end, but the Peres-Erdogan confrontation only made things worse.

Turkish diplomats have been instructed to contact their Israeli and Jewish interlocutors, especially in the United States, and hold 'calming' talks with them stressing the crisis between Israel and Turkey is temporary.

In a message to Jerusalem, a senior Israeli ambassador quoted his Turkish counterpart as having been highly critical of Erdogan. "We must end this farce," the Turkish ambassador said.

Analysts in both Turkey and Israel have said that the ties between the two countries have been harmed as a result of the behavior of Turkish Prime Minister since Israel began its offensive in the Gaza Strip, but mostly because of his confrontation with Peres at Davos.

Erdogan supporters set up a Web site during the weekend, dedicated to the Davos incident. A large picture of the Turkish leader is posed next to a Turkish flag and a headline, "The Conqueror of Davos."

Erdogan's critics point to the fact that next month's local elections in Turkey are one of the reasons for his behavior, even though there are observers who reject this view.

"One does not risk the foreign policy of a country that claims to be a regional power for the sake of local elections,"an Israeli source familiar with Turkish policy said.