But it does matter to many Armenians, who worry Turkey will use the commission to shirk responsibility for the World War I killings. The Turkish people, meanwhile, are concerned about their ally Azerbaijan, which is pressing Ankara for help in recovering the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been controlled by Armenian troops since the early 1990s. “The position [of the Turkish government] is that the invasion of one country by another country should really stop and the Armenian occupation should end,” Sensoy said, noting that “about 1 million Azeris are refugees in their own homeland.” The ambassador acknowledged that the tentative agreement is only the first step on a long road toward full reconciliation with Armenia, and although he declined to predict how the Turkish Parliament would vote on the pact, he still sounded an optimistic note. “It is very difficult to prejudge,” he said. “But we did this because we believe in it and we hope it will go well.” Sensoy said he is also unsure how or if the Turkish-Armenian accord will advance Turkey’s seemingly never-ending goal of becoming a member of the European Union. But he rejected outright the suggestion that somehow the EU bid is no longer on the table, or even important to Turkey’s long-term future given its recent overtures to the Middle East or Europe’s distaste for further enlargement. “It has been a very long saga for Turkey,” he admitted. “It is not going with the pace we would like to see, but it’s still going on. It is one of the things on top of the foreign policy agenda. It’s part of our Western vocation. We are part and parcel of all the Euro-Atlantic structures.” In addition to being a vital energy transit country for Europe, Sensoy pointed out that Turkey’s economy — bolstered by strong agriculture and textile sectors — is the 17th largest in the world and the sixth largest in Europe. Turkey’s gross domestic product has tripled over the past six years from $250 billion to $750 billion, and despite the global economic downturn, Sensoy said his country remains in an unparalleled position to influence its region, not only economically but politically. “Turkey has really grown,” the ambassador said. “It gives us the power to facilitate give and take in the region.” As one example, Turkey launched a trilateral summit process among itself, Afghanistan and Pakistan in February 2007, pledging to increase coordination among the three countries’ political, military and intelligence tiers in the fight against militancy and terrorism. Sensoy also noted that Turkey has sent about 1,000 troops and $200 million to Afghanistan to help with the U.S.-led rebuilding efforts there. “This is of course helpful to what the United States is trying achieve because everything can’t be solved by military means,” he said in a tone reminiscent of Turkey’s initial skepticism of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, which strained relations between the two allies. Nevertheless, Sensoy insists, “We are always supportive of U.S. policies, now in Afghanistan and previously in Iraq.” But perhaps most complicated of all is Turkey’s relationship with Israel. Turkey is considered Israel’s closest ally in the Muslim world, but that strategic relationship has begun to sour in recent months amid speculation that Turkey is realigning itself closer to other countries in the Middle East, especially after serious disagreements with the hawkish new Israeli government. Ankara earned kudos in the Arab world but raised eyebrows in the West with its prime minister’s withering comments about Israel’s Gaza offensive earlier this year, when Erdogan stormed out of a World Economic Forum debate after getting into a heated argument with Israeli President Shimon Peres. More recently, Turkey decided to exclude Israel from participating in a NATO war games exercise — reportedly because of lingering anger over the Gaza assault — at the exact time that Ankara upgraded its relations with Damascus. Ever the diplomat, Sensoy sought to tamp down alarm over Turkey’s supposedly fraying relations with Israel. “There is an international dimension but let’s not forget this is a Turkish exercise,” Sensoy said of the postponed NATO exercise. “There will be other occasions in the future.” He also pointed out that Turkey was the first Muslim state to recognize Israel and that his country is home to many Jews who “enrich our society.” “Between Turks and Jews, there has been only friendship — this is a fact,” the ambassador said. “It is an unshakable relationship. Whatever happens to us today or in the future will happen between the best of friends. But there are times when you don’t see eye to eye.” He said the prime minister’s remarks simply reflected the sentiment of the Turkish people who recoiled at the punishing Israeli retaliation in Gaza that by various estimates killed hundreds of civilians. “When children die and there is destruction, you feel this in your heart,” Sensoy said. “No government can be indifferent to the feelings of its people and that is what happened. But in other aspects, our relationship with Israel is going well.” Speaking in a broader sense about the Middle East, Sensoy said Americans and others in the West should not be worried that Turkey is aiming to become a more substantial player in Middle Eastern politics. “The Middle East was part of the Ottoman Empire and that’s why we have an affinity for the Middle East, including Israeli people,” Sensoy said. “We’ve come to a very critical point of starting to talk to each other. Turkey is trying to have a zero-problem policy with its neighbors and widen its influence and contributions to a wider scope.” He explained that the end of the Cold War has reshuffled the geopolitical deck and Turkey simply wants to have a winning hand. “At the end of the Cold War, we are faced with a new atmosphere and a new world order is in the making,” Sensoy said. “It’s a time of change. In this atmosphere of change Turkey is, of course, trying to adapt to a new reality. It has been part and parcel of the West for a long time but at the same time, Turkey has a cultural affinity for the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucuses … it has many shapes and importance, but the most important part of it is our ties with the Western world.” Michael Coleman is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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