Erdogan Calls Israel "Terrorist State That Kills Children", An Angry Netanyahu Responds

Relations between Israel and Turkey took a sharp turn for the worse on Sunday after their leaders exchanged accusations of involvement in terrorism, days after the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel"s capital. First, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would fight against the controversial declaration, describing Israel as a "terrorist state" that kills children, in a speech in Istanbul.

"Palestine is an innocent victim… as for Israel, it is a terrorist state, yes, terrorist!” Erdogan said in a speech in the central Turkish city of Sivas. "We will not abandon Jerusalem to the mercy of a state that kills children."

The Turkish leader has previously threatened to cut off ties with Israel if Trump follows through with his promise to move the US embassy. He has helped organize an international meeting of officials from Muslim majority countries to discuss how they should respond. Furthermore, he also warned that moving the embassy would represent an obstacle from a logistical standpoint.

Hours after Erdogan"s outburst, Israel"s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back, calling his counterpart a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers and supports terrorists, during an official visit to Paris. While the two countries had normalised relations in recent years, Sunday"s flare-up came after Turkey was angered by US President Donald Trump"s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Furthermore, as we reported on Friday and Saturday, Trump"s move has sparked protests in Muslim and Arab countries for four days.

Erdogan earlier described the status of Jerusalem, whose eastern sector Palestinians see as the capital of their future state, as a "red line" for Muslims. Netanyahu was quick to counter the assault when he spoke later during a press conference alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

"I am not used to receiving lectures about morality from a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers in his native Turkey, who jails journalists, who helps Iran go around international sanctions, and who helps terrorists, including in Gaza, kill innocent people," he said quoted by AFP. "That is not the man who is going to lecture us."

The tit for tat then continued, and the Israeli premier"s comments were immediately denounced by Erdogan"s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin who said: "Instead of taking on our country and our leader, the Israeli authorities would do better to end their occupation of the Palestinian territories."

Erdogan has used his position as the current chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to call a summit of the pan-Islamic group on Wednesday. "We will show that applying the measure will not be as easy as that," he added on Sunday, referring to the US recognition of Jerusalem. He said it was "absurd" to deny the Jews" "ancient connection" to Jerusalem.

During his speech, Erdogan held a picture of what he said was a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from Hebron, in the Occupied West Bank, being dragged away by Israeli soldiers. Turkey and Israel had improved diplomatic ties in recent years but Erdogan has continued to defend the Palestinian cause and has regularly criticised Israeli policy.

Turkey"s Erdogan: There Is No Moderate Islam

Authord by Burak Bekdil via The Gatestone Institute,

• "Erdogan"s claims that "There is no Islamic terror" have left several Islamic terror organizations heart-broken. A press release from al-Qaeda"s press office read: "The prime minister"s remarks are very discouraging. We are doing our best!"" – Zaytung (satire website).


• In 2010, Barack Obama referred to Turkey as a "great Muslim democracy". Obama should have seen that a democracy is a democracy -- without any religious prefix. He would see in later years the difference between a democracy and a Muslim democracy.

Turkey"s strongman, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, may have exhibited all possible features of political Islam since he came to power fifteen years ago, but at least he has been bold and honest about his understanding of Islamism: There is no moderate Islam, he recently said again.

This comment does not mark any U-turn, or a radical deviation from his earlier freshman-self back in the 2000s. The problem is that his Western "allies" have stubbornly preferred to turn a blind eye to his poster-child Islamism. Worse, they still do.

Several years ago, Erdogan"s ideological-self clearly stated that "Turkey is not a country where moderate Islam prevails." In the same speech, his pragmatic-self -- the one that wanted to look pretty to a chorus of Western praise -- added that, "We are Muslims who have found a middle road". But which "middle road?"

In the several years that followed, Erdogan proudly exhibited another feature of Islamism in a make-believe assertion: Muslims never do wrong; if a Muslim does wrong then he is not Muslim.

In 2009, when Sudanese paramilitaries committed acts of genocide against the population of Darfur, and Sudan"s president, Omar al-Bashir, was guilty of the crimes for which he was indicted by the International Criminal Court, Erdogan simply said: "It is not possible for those who belong to the Muslim faith to carry out genocide." Instead, he said, Israeli "war crimes" in Gaza are worse than anything that has taken place in Sudan. As he said that, victims in Sudan had already numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

In February, at a meeting in Ankara, Erdogan slammed German Chancellor Angela Merkel"s phrase "Islamist terror". He angrily said to his guest, "Islam means "peace," it can"t come with "terror"".

When Erdogan (then prime minister) famously claimed that "there is no Islamic terror" in 2010, the satire website Zaytung fabricated a story, the lead paragraph of which read: "Erdogan"s claims that "There is no Islamic terror" have left several Islamic terror organizations heart-broken. A press release from al-Qaeda"s press office read: "The prime minister"s remarks are very discouraging. We are doing our best!"".

In 2011, when Hamas" charter called for the annihilation of the State of Israel by means of violence, Erdogan claimed that "Hamas is not a terrorist organization." Instead, he said: "I don"t see Hamas as a terror organization. Hamas is a political party -- it emerged as a political party that appeared as a political party. It is a resistance movement trying to protect its country under occupation".

In February, at a meeting in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed German Chancellor Angela Merkel"s phrase "Islamist terror". He angrily said to his guest, "Islam means "peace," it can"t come with "terror"". (Image source: Ruptly video screenshot)

In a similar show of ideological wishful thinking, Erdogan has often come out in defense of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, despite international pressure against the movement, particularly from the United States, which has debated listing the group as a terrorist organization. Erdogan said he did not consider the Brotherhood one because "it is not an armed group, but is in actual fact an ideological organization".

The Obama administration sounded as if it were trying to deal with the Turkey it wished it had, instead of dealing with the Turkey it had.

In a 2010 interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Obama referred to Turkey as a "great Muslim democracy". Obama should have seen that a democracy is a democracy -- without any religious prefix. He would see in later years the difference between a democracy and a Muslim democracy.

But it took Obama many years to see that. In 2011, Tom Donilon, Obama"s former national security advisor, said that the U.S. president regarded Erdogan as "a man of principle, and also a man of action." In a 2012 Time interview, Obama named Erdogan as one of the five world leaders with whom he had the strongest bonds.

Seven years after Obama"s pathetic diagnosis about the kind of democracy Erdogan brought to an otherwise secular country, the Turkish president said that "There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. There is only one Islam." Worse, he claimed that the term "moderate Islam" had been fabricated by the West in order to weaken Islam. From the Muslim democracy to the former U.S. president, with love...

The U.S. ambassador to Ankara from 2003 to 2005, Eric Edelman, said, "We basically have turned a blind eye to Erdogan"s drive towards an authoritarian, one-man system of rule in Turkey". The journalist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote in The Atlantic"s April 2016 issue:

"Early on, Obama saw Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, the president of Turkey, as the sort of moderate Muslim leader who would bridge the divide between East and West — but Obama now considers him a failure and an authoritarian..."

The Trump administration has two options: It can either deal with the Turkey it has or the Turkey it wished it had.

"What Did They Expect?" Turkey Pivots From NATO, Signs Russia Missile Deal

Confirming, and sending the clearest sign of his previously discussed pivot toward Russia and away from NATO and the West, on Tuesday President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey had signed a deal to purchase a Russian surface-to-air missile system, and paid the first installment. The deal cements Turkey"s recent rapprochement with Russia, despite differences over the war in Syria, the downing of a Russian fighter jet over Turkey in late 2015 and the assassination of a Russian ambassador earlier this year, and comes as Turkey’s ties with the United States and European Union have become strained to the point of breaking.

Although the missile purchase from Russia was made public several months ago, Erdogan’s announcement was the first confirmation that Turkey had transferred money to pay for the S-400 missile system.

“Signatures have been made for the purchase of S-400s from Russia,” Erdogan said in comments published in several newspapers on Tuesday. “A deposit has also been paid as far as I know.”

As the NYT writes, "the purchase of the missile system flies in the face of cooperation within the NATO alliance, which Turkey has belonged to since the early 1950s. NATO does not ban purchases of military hardware from manufacturers outside the American-led alliance, but it does discourage members from buying equipment not compatible with that used by other members."

According to reports in the Russian media, Turkey is to get four batteries of S-400 launchers complete with targeting radar and control posts. Some aspects of the deal are reportedly to be finalized, but Russian officials said the contract furthers Russia’s geostrategic interests.

* * *

Predictably, the Pentagon promptly reiterated its concerns over the deal, which it said undermines inter-operability of weapons systems among NATO allies. “We have relayed our concerns to Turkish officials regarding the potential purchase of the S-400. A NATO inter-operable missile defense system remains the best option to defend Turkey from the full range of threats in its region," spokesman Johnny Michael said in a statement.

A NATO official in Brussels where the alliance is headquartered, said that no NATO member currently operates the Russian missile system and that the alliance had not been informed about the details of the purchase by Turkey. “What matters for NATO is that the equipment allies acquire is able to operate together,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity as required by alliance procedures. “Interoperability of allied armed forces is essential to NATO for the conduct of our operations.”

However, on Wednesday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the critics of Turkey’s deal with Russia, saying Ankara had no intention of waiting for the protection of its NATO allies.

“They have gone crazy because we made a deal for S-400s,” Erdogan said Wednesday in a speech to the ruling AKP mayors in Ankara, as cited by Hurriyet.

“What do you expect? Should we wait for you? We take care of ourselves in every security point. We are taking precautions and we will continue to do so,” the Turkish leader said.

Erdogan criticized the reluctance of US and Israel to authorize supply of combat drones to Turkey as another example of how Turkish security was sidelined by its allies.

“When they did give [drones], their repair and maintenance put us in a difficult position. Now [Turkey] has come to a point where it can produce its own unmanned, armed air vehicles. And now they are uncomfortable with that,” Erdogan added.

Erdogan also dismissed issues of interoperability, brand loyalties or the geopolitical optics of such a sale. “Nobody has the right to discuss the Turkish republic’s independence principles or independent decisions about its defense industry,” the daily newspaper Hurriyet reported him as saying.

“We make the decisions about our own independence ourselves,” he said. “We are obliged to take safety and security measures in order to defend our country.”

As the NYT adds, Erdogan’s announcement — made to Turkish journalists aboard his presidential jet as he returned from Kazakhstan — appeared timed as a response to two judicial cases announced last week in the United States. One is against his presidential bodyguards, who are charged with assaulting protesters when Mr. Erdogan visited Washington this year. The other is against a group of Turks, including a former minister, accused of breaking United States sanctions against Iran. Erdogan has angrily criticized both cases.

* * *

The S-400 SAM is designed to detect, track and then destroy aircraft, drones or missiles. It’s Russia’s most advanced integrated air defense system, and can hit targets as far as 250 miles away. Russia has also agreed to sell them to China and India, both nations who are masters at reverse engineering.  Most concerning for NATO, however is that the systems delivered to Turkey would not have a friend-or-foe identification system, which means they could be deployed against any threat without restriction.

Turkey has been weighing options for acquiring long-range SAMs for years. In 2013, Ankara surprised other NATO members by announcing that it was going to purchase the FD-2000 system from China, sparking criticism from Washington. Defense observers speculated that Turkey played the China card to put pressure on its allies and get better terms for buying a NATO-compatible SAM system, such as the US-made Patriot PAC-3. The Chinese deal stalled and was eventually scrapped, with Turkey reportedly unhappy over Beijing’s reluctance to hand over the technology behind the advanced system. Last year Ankara announced that it was in talks with Russia over a potential purchase of the S-400.

Turkey has other reasons for the missile purchase. It needs to cultivate good relations with Russia, and it also needs to build its own military defense, said Asli Aydintasbas, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Turkey wants the deal,” she said, “and Russia is only too happy to drive a wedge into the NATO alliance.”

While NATO’s collective defense should have been sufficient for Turkey - NATO deployed Patriot missiles there during a rise of tensions with Syria in the past - Erdogan lost trust in the West since last year’s failed "coup attempt", which he slammed repeatedly as a Western plot to oust him, and appears determined to secure his own defense.

Furthermore, the transfer of technology from Russia is attractive to Turkey: Erdogan has spoken also of his frustration at having requests to the United States for drones turned down, and of his satisfaction that Turkey developed its own.

Notably, Erdogan’s announcement of the deal with Russia came after Germany said that it was suspending all major arms exports to Turkey because of the deteriorating human rights situation in the country and the increasingly strained ties. “We have put on hold all big requests that Turkey sent to us, and these are really not a few,” the German foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, said during a panel discussion in Berlin on Monday, according to Reuters.

While the purchase of Russian missiles will take cooperation between the two nations to a new level, but is not the first time that Turkey has bought military equipment from Russia. It turned to Moscow in the early 1990s to buy military helicopters and armored personnel carriers. Last year, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement to revive a suspended natural-gas pipeline project.

Meanwhile, as the US military-industrial complex has flourished in recent months following a spike in deals with Saudi Arabia, South Korea and other nations courtesy of rising geopolitical tensions, Russia has remained largely squeezed out of the arms market in Western and Eastern Europe, even in countries that once bought nearly all their weapons from the Soviet Union, has looked for years to NATO’S eastern flank as a promising market and the alliance’s weakest link. It has also sold weapons to Greece, another NATO member and to Cyprus, which is not a member of NATO but houses British military bases and effectively serves as an outpost of the alliance.

Meanwhile, as Turkey"s suspicions toward the West have grown, relations with Russia warmed, driven by the personal relationship between Erdogan and Vladimir Putin. Erdogan has expressed personal admiration for Putin, to the consternation of many European and American leaders, if not President Trump. Erdogan has also shown a preference for the Russian model, with its sense of restoring a lost empire, returning Turkey to a more independent place in the world and rejecting Western democracy.

At the same time, the fact that Turkey belongs to NATO has only increased Mr. Putin’s desire to forge strong relations with Mr. Erdogan despite their differences over the conflict in Syria.

“Mr. Putin and myself are determined on this issue,” Erdogan told journalists about the missile deal.

NATO Member Turkey Turns To Russia For Air Defense Cooperation

Authored by Peter Korzun via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

Turkey has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to acquire S-400 – the Russia-made most advanced long-range missile defense system in the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already said that Moscow is ready to sell it. According to Russian Presidential Adviser for Military and Technical Cooperation Vladimir Kozhin, Russia’s contract with Turkey has been agreed in general, with financial details still to be ironed out. The system is capable of intercepting all types of modern air weaponry, including fifth-generation warplanes, as well as ballistic and cruise missiles at a maximum range of nearly 250 miles.

According to the preliminary agreement, Ankara is to receive two S-400 missile batteries within the next year, and then produce another two inside Turkey, although the Turkish defense industry has no experience of producing such systems. Not yet.

Unlike NATO’s US-made Patriots temporarily deployed in Turkey some time ago, the Russian S-400 deal has no political strings attached, and could, potentially, boost Turkey’s defense industry bringing Russian-Turkish military cooperation to an unprecedented level. The two nations will work together for many years and the process is likely to encompass other areas of interaction.

Last year, Russia and Turkey signed a declaration on partnership in defense industry. The parties agreed to form a joint military and intelligence mechanism to coordinate their activities in the Middle East. Ankara also seeks procurement deals with Russia in electronic systems, ammunitions and missile technology.

In 2013, Turkey wanted to purchase the HQ-9 long-range air defense system from China but had to scupper the deal in 2015 due to political pressure from NATO allies. Not this time. The pressure is there but Turkey stands tall - it wants the best and the best is S-400. Today, the Turkish government is pursuing a more independent policy while its ties with NATO, the EU and the US are getting increasingly strained.

The deal is a clear shift of Turkey away from NATO and the West. The system won’t be compatible with the rest of the alliance for the purposes of integration. In March, 2017, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, «Being a NATO member does not mean we are not independent. We can have close ties with Russia while performing our responsibilities toward NATO. We find objections on this matter inappropriate».

Turkey has been angered by what it sees as lukewarm condemnation by its Western allies of the abortive July 2016 putsch against President Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara suspected that the West had a role to play. Russia was the first country to be visited by the Turkish president after the failed coup.

The idea of joining the EU has lost its attraction for Ankara as the union is facing a number of problems, including Brexit, the refugee crisis, the surge of far-right movements and the creation of blocs within the bloc while the concepts of «two-speed Europe» and «multi-speed Europe» are seriously considered as alternatives to the EU we know today.

The territorial dispute between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea and Turkey’s support for Northern Cyprus has traditionally spoiled relations between Turkey and NATO. According to the NATO 2016 annual report, Turkey took part in only four of the 18 key NATO exercises held last year. Despite having the fourth-strongest military in the bloc and the second-highest number of military personnel, Turkey’s involvement in NATO"s deployments amounts to just 4 percent of the personnel in the mission to train the Afghan security forces, and 7 percent of the Kosovo force.

Turkey has recently blocked some rolling programs with NATO, including political events, civilian projects and military training, in an escalation of its diplomatic dispute with a number of European states. The action encompasses many more areas of NATO’s activities as the programs cover most of Europe, plus many countries in the Middle East and Asia. As its relations with the West sour, Turkey is looking for other partners.

Russia and Turkey lead the management crisis process in Syria. With the Islamic State (IS) retreating everywhere, the time draws nearer when Russia and Turkey will face the question about what to do next. It could be the start of forming a broader alliance.

If the coordination of efforts in Syria is successful, the lucrative prospect in bilateral trade, mutual investment, tourism and the Turkish Steam gas project will provide a powerful impetus to the development of relationship.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the first statement about the possibility of Turkey’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as far back as 2013. In 2016, he repeated it again, saying «Some may criticize me but I express my opinion. For example, I have said ‘why shouldn’t Turkey be in the Shanghai 5?» Turkey was granted dialogue partner status in the SCO in 2012. This year, Ankara chairs the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Energy Club. The SCO’s clout is rapidly increasing in the world. The accession would bring economic benefits for Turkey.

Ankara is also showing increasing interest in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). It was invited to join the organization in 2014. Many of the present and potential members of the EAEU are countries with whom Turkey already has close relations in many fields.

Ankara is also getting closer to Beijing. The two countries are closely cooperating to implement China’s the One Belt One Road project. Turkey is again taking the position as a key investment and cooperation partner that will help bridge the East and the West.

Turkey’s gradual shift from the West to Eurasia and other partners is part of a broader process as the West gets weakened, divided and less attractive. The very notion of «Western unity» is fading away. Unsurprisingly, as its relations with the West sour, Turkey is reaching out to other poles of power. The S-400 deal conforms to the trend.

Turkey's Barks And Bites

Authored by Burak Bekdil via The Gatestone Institute,

• 
  

  This is the first time that Erdogan is openly challenging a concerted European stand.

  
  

Turkey"s foreign policy and the rhetoric that presumably went to support it, has, during the past several years, aimed less at achieving foreign policy goals and more at consolidating voters" support for the Ankara government.

Self-aggrandizing behavior has predominantly shaped policy and functioned to please the Turks" passion for a return to their glorious Ottoman past.

Assertive and confrontational diplomatic language and playing the tough guy of the neighborhood may have helped garner popular support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), but after years of "loud barking and no biting", Turkey has effectively become the victim of its own narrative.

In 2010, Turkey froze diplomatic relations with Israel and promised "internationally to isolate the Jewish state", and never to restore ties unless, along with two other conditions, Jerusalem removed its naval blockade of Gaza to prevent weapons from being brought in that would be used to attack Israel. Turkey"s prime minister at the time, Ahmet Davutoglu, said Israel would "kneel down to us".

In 2016, after rounds of diplomatic contacts, Turkey and Israel agreed to normalize their relations. The blockade of Gaza, to prevent shipments of weaponry to be used by Gazans in terror attacks remains in effect.

In 2012, Davutoglu claimed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad"s days in power were numbered, "not by years but by weeks or months". In 2016, Davutoglu had to step down as prime minister, but Erdogan"s and his worst regional nemesis, Assad, is in power to this day, enjoying increased Russian and Iranian backing. In 2012, Erdogan said that "we will soon go to Damascus to pray at the Umayyad mosque" -- a political symbol of Assad"s downfall and his replacement by pro-Turkey Sunni groups. That prayer remains to be performed.

In November 2015, shortly after Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 military jet and cited violation of its airspace, Erdogan warned Russia "not to play with fire." As for the Russian demands for an apology, Erdogan said it was Turkey that deserved an apology because its airspace had been violated, and that Turkey would not apologize to Russia.

In June 2016, just half a year after Russia imposed a slew of economic sanctions on Turkey, Erdogan apologized to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In July 2016, Erdogan apologized for downing a Russian plane, and in August he went to Russia to shake hands for normalization. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin with Turkey"s then Prime Minister Erdogan, meeting in Istanbul on December 3, 2012. (Image source: kremlin.ru)

Erdogan and his government have countless times warned the United States not to side with the Syrian Kurds --whom Turkey views as a terrorist group-- in the allied fight against radical jihadists of ISIL"s Islamic State. In March 2017, Washington denied that Syrian Kurds were a terrorist group and pledged continued support for them.

Erdogan"s Turkey has done more than enough to show that its bark is worse than its bite. Yet it keeps barking badly. This time, the enemy to bark at, not bite, is Europe. This is the first time that Erdogan is openly challenging a concerted European stand.

In a recent row between several European capitals and Ankara over Erdogan"s ambitions to hold political rallies across Europe to address millions of Turkish expatriates, the Turkish president said he would ignore that he was unwelcome in Germany and would go there to speak to his Turkish fans.

In response, the Dutch government deported one of Erdogan"s ministers who had gone uninvited to the Netherlands to speak to the Turkish community there.

Germany launched two investigations into alleged Turkish spying on German soil.

Similarly, Switzerland opened a criminal investigation into allegations that Erdogan"s government had spied on expatriate Turks.

In Copenhagen, the Danish government summoned the Turkish ambassador over claims that Danish-Turkish citizens were being denounced over views critical of Erdogan.

The barking kept on. In Turkey, Erdogan warned that Europeans would not be able to walk the streets safely if European nations persist in what he called "arrogant conduct." That comment caused the EU to summon the Turkish ambassador in Brussels to explain Erdogan"s threatening language.

Farther east, in the rich European bloc, several hundred Bulgarians blocked the three main checkpoints at the Bulgarian-Turkish border to prevent Turks with Bulgarian passports, but who were living in Turkey, from voting in Bulgarian elections. The protesters claimed that Turkish officials were forcing expatriate voters to support a pro-Ankara party.

Meanwhile, at the EU"s southeast flank, Greece said that its armed forces were ready to respond to any Turkish threat to the country"s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

What happened to Erdogan"s promised "bite" that he could go to Germany to speak to the Turkish community despite repeated German warnings that he would not be welcome? "I will not go to Germany," he said on March 23.

Erdogan may be winning hearts and minds in Turkey with his neo-Ottoman Turkey "barks." But too few foreign capitals find his threats serious, too few politicians think that he is convincing and too many people tend to believe Turkey"s bark is worse than its bite.

The recent wave of European constraints against Erdogan shows that, for the first time in recent years, Europe does not seem to fear Erdogan"s bluffing and thuggishness.

At the moment, Erdogan"s priority is to win the referendum on April 16 that he hopes will change the constitution so that he can be Sultan-for-life. Picking fights with "infidel" Europeans might help him garner more support from conservative and nationalist Turks.

When the voting is done, however, he will have to face the reality that an alliance cannot function forever with one party constantly blackmailing the other.

Trump To Seek Merkel's Advice On Putin, Ukraine Conflict

Ahead of Angela Merkel"s first official meeting with the new administration at the White House next week, Reuters reports that President Trump will ask the German Chancellor for her views on how the United States can help resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine when they meet next week, senior Trump administration officials said on Friday. Trump will reportedly also ask for Merkel"s advice on how to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, advice which is pretty clear to anyone following the establishment German press over the past few years.

The question, of course, is whether Trump will follow Merkel"s advice, which will be in line with the policies of the Obama administration, and will likely lead to further antagonism and distancing between the two nations which until recently had sought to break the ice that had developed in bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, ahead of her meeting with Trump, Merkel said Thursday that Europe must take on more responsibility and continue to stick to its open trade policy amid changes to the trans-Atlantic relationship under the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Merkel told the German Parliament that Europe "must be able to have an independent crisis management in our region" — not in competition, but in addition to NATO.

Merkel said that despite the current changes in the U.S., the "trans-Atlantic partnership based upon our values and interests" is of overriding importance for Europeans — and that "this is the spirit" in which she would lead her talks with Trump in Washington. 

Indirectly referring to Trump"s isolationist economic leanings, she said "even if in parts of the world we see protectionist and nationalist approaches on the rise, Europe may never isolate, seal itself off or withdraw."

Europe needs to be especially open-minded when it comes to trade policy, the chancellor said ahead of a trip to Brussels to attend a European Union summit.

* * *

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Russian President Putin, the source of so much controversy for Trump in recent weeks, held two meetings of his own.

On Thursday, he met with Israel"s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Putin urged Israel to focus on modern world affairs, after the visiting Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu referred to an ancient legend of an Iranian forefather’s attempt to eradicate the Jewish people. Putin and Netanyahu touched upon a range of issues during their meeting in Moscow, such as the fight against terrorism, the crisis in Syria and Israel’s tough relations with Iran.

President Putin began by wishing Prime Minister Netanyahu a happy Purim, which is a traditional Jewish holiday that marks the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, a vizier in the ancient Persian Empire. In response, Netanyahu said Persia made “an attempt to destroy the Jewish people that did not succeed” nearly 2,500 years ago, stressing that “today there is an attempt by Persia’s heir, Iran, to destroy the state of the Jews.” “They say this as clearly as possible and print it in black and white in their newspapers.”

However, this time Israel has its own territory and an army that protects its territory, Netanyahu said. Putin noted that those events had taken place “in the fifth century BC,” added that “we now live in a different world” and suggested discussing the actual up-to-date problems in the region.

Thenm on Frday, Putin met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after which the two held a joint press conference following the latest meeting between the two in Moscow. Below are some of the highlights courtesy of Sputnik:

Vladimir Putin on bilateral cooperation

"Today we have had 6 meetings on the highest level. The atmosphere was very constructive," President Putin told reporters. The two presidents discussed economic issues, cooperation in the humanitarian sphere. Russia is considering Turkey as key partner and Moscow is ready to develop political dialogue with Ankara at highest level, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

"We can say with certainty that our countries have returned to the path of authentic multi-faceted partnership," Putin said at a news conference following expanded talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an in Moscow. "I"d like to emphasize that we view Turkey as our key partner. We are ready to maintain active political dialogue at the highest level," Putin said.

Vladimir Putin on Russian tourists security in Turkey

Russia’s relevant agencies have been ordered to ensure security of Russian tourists in Turkey, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday. "The relevant agencies were ordered to intensify the elaboration of issues of ensuring the security of Russian tourists, who are yet again showing interest in holidaying at Turkish resorts," Putin said after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Putin on energy cooperation

Russia expects that the project to build Turkey"s first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, will soon receive the status of a so-called strategic investment, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday. "We expect that in the near future the Akkuyu nuclear power plant will be given the status of a strategic investment," Putin said at a press conference following the Russian-Turkish talks. "We also agreed to create joint investment fund. Energy is one of our prioritites," the president added.

Russia and Turkey agreed construction of the Blue Stream pipeline. European partners can participate in this project if they want to, the president noted.

Putin on the situation in Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he discussed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the situation in Syria, the sides noted the need to join efforts in the fight against terrorism. "Much attention was paid to the situation in the Middle East, to Syria in particular during an exchange of opinions on the current international issues. The sides called for joining efforts of the international community in the fight against terrorism," Putin said after the meeting.

According to the Russian president, the countries agreed to cooperate actively in the fight against terror. "We agreed with our Turkish colleagues to actively cooperate in the fight against terrorist groups, first of all Daesh, by working together via military and security services," he added.

The ceasefire in Syria is generally being observed thanks to the coordinated efforts of Russia, Turkey and Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "Due to the coordinated actions of Russia, Turkey and Iran, the ceasefire in Syria is generally being observed, the level of violence has decreased significantly," Putin said after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Moreover, Vladimir Putin did not rule out possible involvement of the United States in joint efforts on the settlement of the Syrian crisis.

Erdogan on bilateral cooperation

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked Putin for hospitality. Erdogan said that Turkey had completed the process of normalization of relations with Russia during his meeting with Vladimir Putin.

"We managed to overcome provocative actions and all issues. Much work was done to normalize our relations. We think that there is a noticeable shift in our relations. I think that we completely the process of normalization as a result of our meeting today," Erdogan said after the meeting.

According to the Turkish president, the talks in Moscow earlier in the day confirmed the intention to intensify cooperation. "Even if we do not agree on all issues, we keep all channels of communications open, as a result of the establishment of mutual trust we shall continue strengthening cooperation," Erdogan said.

Turkish presdient also said that he hopes that Russia will remove all economic sanctions against Turkey. "We can also improve trade by providing payments in our national currencies," Erdogan told reporters.

Erdogan on situation in Syria

"We have also talked about Syria," Erdogan said. The two presidents discussed what can be done to resolve the Syrian conflict as well as other military conflicts (for example Nagorno-Karabakh conflict). "We believe that all problems in Syria should be resolved," Turkish president said. Our communications channels are opened for discussion, Erdogan noted.

Erdogan expressed his condolences once again to the family of Russian diplonat Karlov killed in Turkey.