Interview with Suha Bolukbasi, professor in the Department of International Relations at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara.
Q: How would you comment on the famous scandal with Wikileaks?
A: Apparently wiki hackers who proved until now very good at hacking important sites (especially US sites) have continued at hacking further. It seems the State Department site including cables from various US embassies worldwide were unearthed through cracking the State Department site including all these cables.
Q: May this information harm US-Turkish relations?
A: Relations between Turkey and the US have experienced ups and downs since the Second World War. In recent years problems continued to emerge (for instance US Congress's attempts to describe 1915 events as genocide. In recent years the US has been very critical of Turkey's activism in the Middle East (especially Turkey's rapprochement with Iran, and Turkey's denunciation of Israel.)Yet still there is a strategic tie between the two countries. The US for instance needs Turkey vis-a-vis Iraqi politics and war on terror. Also, the US needs the Turkish connection in the Caucasus regarding Georgia and Azerbaijan. Also, the missile shield against Iran. So the picture is a bit muddy. One can argue, however, relations are much cooler than before.
Q: And what about Azeri-Turkish relations? Are you sure that Wikileaks won’t affect the strategic relations between our countries?
A: I believe both countries each other. The Azeri-Turkish relations can be described as strategic partnership. They need each other in many fields. Oil is important for Turkey, and Turkey's isolation of Armenia is important for Azerbaijan. Hence both Ankara and Baku will simply ignore the leaks.
Q: How can you comment on the statement in British Guardian that referring to Wikileaks published a quite sharp letter, sent to the Armenian leadership on 24 December 2008, in which the high ranking officials of the United States threaten to apply sanctions if the Armenian government does not stop the arms supplies to Iran via its territory which has caused the death of the US soldiers to Iraq?
A: If the allegation is correct it is very normal for the US to act tough against Armenia. The US considers Iran as a major threat, especially regarding US interests in Iraq. The US would be very pissed off if Armenia did indeed provide arms to Iran. So, the claim might be true.
Aliyah Fridman
News.Az
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