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Turkey-U.S. Ties Face "Breaking Point" over Iran Sanctions Vote

(Financial Times-UK) Daniel Dombey and Delphine Strauss - The turbulent relationship between the U.S. and Turkey - allies for more than half a century - is about to reach a decisive moment when the UN Security Council votes on whether to tighten sanctions on Iran. Turkey, a member of the Security Council, is leading the case against sanctions. "The moment when the Turkish ambassador at the UN fails to raise his hand in support of the Iran sanctions vote may be a breaking point," said Bulent Aliriza of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. On a trip to Turkey last year, President Obama hailed the country's potential as a bridge to the Muslim world, as well as its status as a democratic, secular NATO ally. Since then, the U.S. has grown uneasy over the direction taken by the government of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, who has strengthened relations with Iran and Syria, and echoed some of their criticisms of Western foreign policy. The U.S. has signaled that it considers Turkey's reaction to the flotilla incident overblown. The day that Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, said the Israeli raid was the psychological equivalent for his country of the September 11 attacks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for "careful, thoughtful responses from all concerned." Erdogan leads a country where anti-U.S. feeling is comparable to levels in nations such as Pakistan. A BBC World Service survey in April found that 70% of Turks held a negative view of the U.S.
2010-06-09 08:50:15
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