Economic and political ties between Turkey and Israel remain active, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statements about protecting Palestinians are not accompanied by practical steps to put pressure on Israel. This is the assessment of Turkey specialist Tiran Lokmagozyan.
According to Lokmagozyan, Turkey and Israel maintained good economic and political relations for many years, and those ties continue today. He claims that Turkey remains one of Israel’s main suppliers of goods. He also says Azerbaijani gas reaches Israel through Turkish territory.
“If Erdoğan is so hostile towards Israel, why does he not shut down the gas pipeline?” the analyst asks. He says such calls have repeatedly been made in Turkey, yet economic ties have not deteriorated in his assessment, and the gas supply route has operated without interruption.
Lokmagozyan argues that the Turkish authorities present their position as a policy of protecting Palestinians, while in reality neither Turkey nor even Arab countries are concerned with Palestinian interests. In his view, Palestinians find themselves in a desperate situation, with different countries using their cause for their own purposes.
The analyst believes Erdoğan is trying to present himself as the defender of Muslims and the wider Islamic world, but sees no practical action beyond his statements.
Lokmagozyan regards Erdoğan’s public anti-Israel rhetoric as part of a political performance.
“What we see is not reality. Reality is hidden behind the curtain. On stage, they may be at each other’s throats, but behind the curtain, they shake hands,” he says.
Relations between states, he argues, are determined primarily by interests. In Lokmagozyan’s view, what matters in politics is the alignment of interests rather than shared religion or national identity.
“Politics is about interests, interests and nothing else. People may have national or religious goals and aspirations, but for elites, interests come first,” Lokmagozyan concludes.
👉 Regional