While Israel refrains from making official comment on reports of Turkey’s leaking to Teheran of local anti-nuclear spy network, Israeli officials stress recent security cooperation with Turkey as ‘very limited’.

By Attila Somfalvi

The Washington Post’s report about Turkey’s disclosure to Iran of an Israeli spy network might have failed to elicit an official Israeli response, but state officials admit that security relations with Ankara are extremely limited and went as far as saying that reconciliation talks surrounding the Marmara raid are “stuck.”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – Photo: AFP

“The Turks are destroying any attempt to reach understandings,” an Israeli official close to the talks said. “They don’t want to resolve this thing. It’s completely stuck and despite President Obama’s efforts, they don’t want to move ahead at this point.” Nevertheless, he stressed that Ankara might decide to resolve the matter if it suited its interests.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is regarded in Jerusalem practically as an enemy. “He’s just against us,” a state official said. “He’s siding with Israel’s biggest enemies and the security relations with them are very limited. In light of the situation, it would not be possible to reach any level of intimacy on the sensitive issues. We would not be surprised if we were to learn that he is outright acting against us.”

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Within the defense establishment, Turkey is viewed as a country in crisis in the wake of Erdogan’s failure to take a more dominant role in the Middle East by joining forces with the Muslim Brotherhood. “Turkey is not a significant player in the Middle East at the moment,” one official said.

“Erdogan is fighting with Israel, with the new regime in Egypt and also has a problem with the Syrians. He is doing his best to reestablish his status as president, but it’s harder for him now both because his status in the region and Turkey’s economy have weakened.”

Erdogan wants to be have the power an American president has, but without the checks and balances, the official noted.

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4442348,00.html