Erdogan attacks Israel in the media while helps it against coronavirus
Istanbul – North-Press agency
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's intention recently to send medical aid to counter coronavirus to Israel raises many questions for observers and analysts who see that Erdogan is attacking Israel in the media outlets while providing it assistance behind the scenes.
Several media sources have spoken of talks between Turkey and Israel regarding sending a shipment of Turkish medical aid to Israel, which was denied by pro-Erdogan sources despite assurances from Israeli media outlets.
Political ends
However, observers considered that Erdogan's aim behind providing medical aid to a number of Arab and Western countries under the pretext of coronavirus stems from political rather than humanitarian ends, because today he deals with Israel as a matter of political rather than humanitarian interest, and he follows the proverb: "There are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends."
In exclusive statements to North-Press, Russian analyst Denis Kurkudinov said: “Ankara agreed to provide Israel with medical equipment to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, according to a statement by Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, the deal is not charitable but exclusively commercial; however, Turkey's assistance to Israel, despite the complex nature of relations between the two countries, has a clear humanitarian context."
Giving charity
Kurkudinov continued: "Of course, given Turkey’s unfavorable economic situation caused by the depreciation of the Turkish lira and decrease of oil prices, Turkey could not provide charity to anyone even in the event of an epidemic; moreover, Turkish citizens might not appreciate the initiative of the good fortune of Recep Tayyip Erdogan if he decides to provide assistance for Israel for free.
According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, the number of patients who were diagnosed with coronavirus in Israel on Monday exceeded 11 145 cases, while more than 56,956 cases were recorded in Turkey.
Solving the political problems
According to Kurkudinov, in the end, by helping Israel, Erdogan can also solve political problems, so Israel, under pressure from Turkey, may abandon implementing the EastMed project, a gas pipeline connecting eastern Mediterranean reserves to Europe, explaining that this gas pipeline should begin as conceived by its makers in Israel and transit through Cyprus and Crete in Greece, and from there to Italy.
Kurkudinov indicated that the EastMed project is the main competitor of the Stream Stream project and therefore it will create many problems for Erdogan. In addition, the leaders of Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and Egypt are not ready to give Turkey the right to participate in the EastMed project due to the fact that all parties of the project have significant differences with Ankara.
This situation is causing serious irritation on the part of Erdogan, who is trying at any cost to get the support of Israel in order to impede the implementation of the EastMed project, so the coronavirus epidemic has provided a unique opportunity for Turkey.