(JNi.media) Turkey’s rift with Iran and Hezbollah—both of which are a national security threat to Israel—over Syria, as well as Israel’s future gas sales to Europe, could pave the way for closer relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv, judging by new Mossad chief Yossi Cohen’s positive signals, Yusuf Selman Inanç wrote in the Turkish Daily Sabah Tuesday.
Inanç observed that one day before his appointment, Cohen signaled that Israel’s strained relations with Turkey will be amended, when he said, “Israel’s place in the Middle East is increasingly challenged, and it will be reinforced by cooperation with our neighbors, particularly Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. It is in our interest to forge strategic economic relationships with these states.”
The Turkish pundit also cited Cohen’s statement that “for me, it is important to extract the gas as soon as possible and to take care of our relations with the other states.”
Inanç was pleased that Netanyahu also said that “we need to ensure our energy security,” and that Israel should be an export country rather than import country. “The security considerations force us to develop more fields and more rigs. It strengthens the ties between the moderates in the region, and therefore this deal is essential for the future of Israel.”
Netanyahu described high level talks being held between Turkish and Israeli governments over gas exports. A week ago, Reuters reported that Turkey wants to cut its reliance on Russian gas for cars and households, over the growing rift between Ankara and Moscow following Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet. According to Reuters, Turkey is getting ready to cut imports of liquefied petroleum gas from Russia by as much as 25% next year.
But Turkey also relies on the biggest gas-powered transportation in the world—40% of Turkish vehicles run on natural gas.
A Turkish official told Daily Sabah that the relations with Israel are being mended, and talks are being held over energy routes to deposit Israeli gas in Turkey before selling it to Europe—the same deal Turkey is now in the process of curbing with the Russians. To date, from Turkey’s point of view, the only stumbling block on the way to normalizing relations is Netanyahu’s refusal to remove the blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Inanç says the energy issue offer a common ground for Israeli and Turkish interests, as does the war in Syria. Turkey objects to the presence of Hezbollah in Syria, which is another mutual interest for Turkey and Israel. Iran’s involvement in Syria and its nuclear ambitions are yet another area where both countries are in agreement. The fact that both Turkey and Israel are democracies combating terrorist insurgents should also position them in the same camp together.
Inanç believes that “the common threats and mutual economic interests may change the fate of Turkish-Israeli relations and Cohen might play a significant role during the amendment process.”