Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 31 / Trend , U. Sadikhova/
Despite Turkey's attempts to become an active participant in the peace dialogue in the Middle East, the U.S. will remain a key player and mediator in the Arab-Israeli peace process.
Experts believe that an obstacle for Turkish ambitions in the Middle East can become a rapprochement with Syria and Iran, as well as tensions in the relations with Israel.
"The fact that Turkey repairs relations with its neighbors [Syria, Iran and Iraq] is normal, but everything should proceed in a planned form," Member of the Turkish Parliament from the opposition party, Shenol Bal told Trend .
Despite maintaining strategic relationship with Israel, the fact that Turkey has recently chosen a way to develop relations with Syria and Iran, supporting anti-Israel parties in the region, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, reduces Ankara's chances to become such a mediator in the peace process in the Middle East, as the U.S. and EU, analysts believe.
On the backdrop of the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton's first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Autonomy later this week to revive the peace process, the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated in Tehran that the strategic partnership between Turkey and Israel will remain the same.
Earlier in an interview with British The Guardian newspaper, Erdogan said that there are no problems and countries between Turkey and Iran, adding that Iran was and is a "friend of Turkey".
However, according to the American Middle East Expert David Schenker, although Israel and Turkey's strategic relationship perseveres, but with the recent cancellation of exercises, and Turkey's budding relations with Damascus and Tehran, there is a growing problem of trust.
"Given the sympathies of the AKP [Turkey's governing party], I think there is little chance or hope that Turkey will in the future play a productive role in helping to bring the parties [Arab countries and Israel] together," Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Schenker wrote to Trend in an email. "Washington is still the only interloctor accepted by both parties."
Turkish Deputy Bal believes that by restoring relations with neighbors, such as Syria, with which Ankara was on the brink of war a decade ago, Turkey should also be vigilant.
Analysts also rule out the possibility that Turkey will again be able to mediate between Arab countries and Israel, as it was a year ago in the indirect Syrian-Israeli negotiations.
"When Ankara became the only mediator between Syria and Israel, it had good relations both with Damascus and Tel Aviv," a leading analyst of the Israeli policy at the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Strategic Studies, Imad Jad said to Trend over telephone.
He believes the Arab countries, such as Syria, and the Palestinian Hamas movement who has the same ideology will support Turkey's initiative to mediate in the peace process with Israel, but it would be better for Ankara to support Arabs in the talks, rather than mediate.
"The most important requirement for intermediaries is to maintain good relations with all parties. Turkey does not have such relations with Israel at the moment," said Jad.
It is also not ruled out that Turkey is keen to replace Egypt in the peace process, believes the Egyptian analyst.
Israeli Analyst Eytan Gilboa agrees with him and rules out Turkey's mediation in the Israeli-Arab conflict, especially after the recent tensions in the relations of the two countries.
"By siding with Iran and Syria, Turkey has alienated not only Israel but also most of the Arab countries which view Iran's nuclear and hegemonic ambitions as the greatest threat to stability, security and peace in the Middle East," Professor of International Communication at the Israel-based Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Gilboa wrote to Trend in an email.
According to Gilboa, the repeated vicious attacks by Turkey's Prime Minister on Israel and the emerging alliance with Iran, the number 1 opponent of Arab-Israeli peace, effectively removed Turkey from playing any role in Arab-Israeli negotiations.
Therefore analysts have the same opinion that the U.S. will remain the only and key mediator in the Arab-Israeli negotiations.
The Israeli media reported that Clinton went to the region in a critical moment of the peace process when the Palestinians and the Israelis refuse to negotiate.
The Israeli Haaretz newspaper wrote that the Barack Obama administration plans to propose an indirect dialogue between the parties, given that the peace process has stalled.
Jad said despite the current problems in the U.S. policy, they still retain a leading position in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"One cannot draw parallels between the U.S. and Turkey in the peace process at this stage. The only party that has a power in the mediation is the U.S.," believes Jad.
Obama invited the Turkish Prime Minister to visit U.S., and the visit is expected to take place in December.
According to the Turkish media, the peace process in the Middle East will be one of the main topics of discussions during a meeting between the U.S. President and the Turkish Prime Minister."
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