PDF Dosyası - Ankara Üniversitesi Kitaplar Veritabanı

hold of NATO in an area vital for the economic interest of the industrialisedcountries. But the Turkish contribution to the success of the internationalanti Irakian coalition did not prove to be globaly benefîcial for Turkey.Of course, the geostrategic importance of Turkey was againrecognised by the United States which resumed its aid. but this aid wasfar to compensate the loss of the Iraki market and the downswing of theinvestment capacity of the Gulf States whose fınancial capacities wereconsiderably affected by the cost of the Gulf crisis of 1990.Nevertheless, at the end of the Gulf war, Turkey managed to solve ina relative satisfactory way most of the equations produced by the consequencesof the end of the cold war. It actually recoverd a relatively favourableplace in United States' strategy and could again rely on its protection.Moreover, Turkey, in accordance with a Kemalist tradition, couldmaintain its neutrality in regional disputes and remain on neighbourlyterms with almost ali its middle eastern neighbours until 1996. During thefırst half of the nineties, Turkey was consistently invited by the Arabstates to play fully its role of a regional power in order to work on theside of the Arab and Müslim world at the constitution of a stable andpeaceful regional order in the Middle East.With the European Union Turkey's diplomacy was less successfullas it continues to rebuff Turkey's demands to join the Union making theargument of democratic defıciencies in the political life of the country, ofthe non respect of human rights, and especially about the way Turkeydeals with the Kurdish question, and finally the already unsolved problemof Cyprus. Of prior importance is also - besides ali what is left unsaid -the dispute with Greece which actually vetoes the admission of Turkey.After a period of euphoria aroused by the conclusion of the Osloagreements and the prospect of the achievement of a comprehensivepeace for the Middle East which was felt as a majör issue for its sucurityand its economic acvity, Turkey, which was actively participating in multilateralmeetings devoted to the peace process, faces a degradation of thegeneral situation in the Middle East and of its relations with most of itsmiddle eastern neighbours due, to a great extent, to the consequences ofthe stalling of the peace process, and also to its dispute with Greece andits tradtionaly tense relations with Syria which brought Ankara and Damason the verge of a clash.Given their conflictual relations with Turkey, Greece and Syriawhich both supported Kurdish claims - espacially Syria whose supportwas both of a political and military nature - concluded military agreementsin 1995.This event considered by Turkey as a majör threat for its securitywas, follovving certain sources, one of the main reasons of the conclusionof its two military agreements with Israel in February and August 1996.609