AN ISRAELI deputy has conceded that, although his country’s military agreement with Turkey did not currently upset regional stability, it could cause problems in the future.
But speaking to Cypriot journalists, Yael Dayan said that if Israel didn’t sell arms to Turkey, “others will”.
She acknowledged that Israel ranked fifth in the world in military hardware sales.
The joint defence agreement did not have too much value, “in terms of strengthening the military power of the two countries,” she said, but added that “it may prove unwise in the long term.”
Dayan, the daughter of Moshe Dayan, said this would especially be the case when it came to peace negotiations with Syria.
Israel, she added, wanted to see a settlement in Cyprus, but did not want to take sides in a conflict between two countries that it considers friendly.
Meanwhile, other Israeli sources told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that the significance of Israel’s agreement with Turkey had been “greatly exaggerated”, and echoed Dayan’s statements that if Israel did not supply Turkey with arms, others would.
“It is not fair to single out Israel as a power helping Turkey,” the source said.
“We define our ties with Turkey as normal relations between normal countries,” the source said, but added that Israel probably would not sell arms to Cyprus.
Referring to the Russian S-300 missile system ordered by Cyprus, the source said Israel was not worried, as these would not tip the broader balance of power.
Israel supports a Cyprus solution along the lines of UN resolutions, the source went on, but such a solution “cannot come from twisting Turkey’s arm.”
And the source also called for the EU to be more generous to Turkey in order to give it an incentive to move on Cyprus, suggesting that it be placed in a second group of countries for accession in return for a partial withdrawal of troops from Cyprus.
But the source stressed that though Israel may deal with Turkey, cabinet members were officially reminded every year not to have any dealings with the Denktash regime. When Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash went to Israel earlier in the year, he was unable to secure any meetings with government officials, though “not for want of trying.”
Relations between Cyprus and Israel have become strained on several occasions over the past year, which has seen Turkey and Israel renew their joint defence initiative, as well as claims that Israel allowed Turkey to carry out anti S-300 exercises on its territory.