Erdogan gives up reviving his Ottoman Empire

Erdogan gives up reviving his Ottoman Empire

Dr. Jassim Taqui

For all practical purposes, the Turkish President Rajab Tayyip Erdogan has given up the revival of his  Ottoman Empire with Aleppo as its capital. The retreat started when Erdogan embraced Putin plan to end the civil war in Syria by permitting the National Syrian Army to take control of Aleppo and defeat Daesh, which he helped established.

The next step is even more radical. Erdogan started first secret talks with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which resulted in the renewal of Turkish-Israeli naval cooperation after more than six years of estrangement.

The two countries are planning a big military interaction. The Turkish ships are on their way to Haifa port for mutual exercises.

Helped by the US Navy Adm. Michelle Howard, who commands the US Sixth Fleet as well as NATO’s Naples, Italy-based Joint Force Command, Erdogan is becoming a new member of the Sixth Fleet in further strengthening Israeli Navy.

Hosted by Israeli Navy Commander Vice Adm. Eli Sharvit, Howard toured one of Israel’s new German-built submarines, sailed on a Sa'ar-5 Corvette and visited the service’s elite Flotilla 13 unit.

Cyprus and France are joining the show by planning to participate for the first time later this spring in a traditionally trilateral exercise called Noble Dina, designed to increase maritime proficiencies among participating nations.

In recent years Greece has been a regular participant in the trilateral drill, which in April 2016 involved a US Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, a P-3C for anti-submarine scenarios and replenishment provided by US Military Sealift Command. 

Yet another trilateral drill involving the Israeli, US and Hellenic navies is planned for the current year. That drill, dubbed Reliant Mermaid, is primarily focused on search and rescue operations.

In parallel to its multilateral joint exercises, the Israeli Navy is working bilaterally with the United States and a spectrum of other friendly nations to enhance cooperation and military exchanges.

In November, the British HMS Bulwark, part of the Royal Navy’s Joint Expeditionary Force Task Group, spent nearly a week on joint drills and rest and relaxation for its 560-member crew.  

The service periodically conducts bilateral maneuvers with the French, Italian and Cypriot navies, and in late September, the Israeli Navy sent a submarine and two surface ships to the Italian Navy’s Taranto base.

In an interview prior to his retirement last September as the Israeli Navy commander, Vice Adm. Ram Rothberg noted that coalition building had become a priority for the Israeli service. In addition to Greece, Rothberg cited France, Italy, Cyprus and the UK as nations with whom his service was cultivating stronger ties. However, he noted that by far the bulk of cooperation has been and will remain with Israel’s chief ally, the United States.

As for Turkey, Ankara acceded to Israel opening up a liaison office to NATO last year — something that has paved the way for more direct Israel coordination with the alliance. Israel and Turkey signed a reconciliation deal in June 2016 after a rupture prompted by the May 2010 Mavi Marmara affair, in which nine Turkish nationals died during an Israeli raid on a ship that had attempted to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Since then, the two countries have exchanged ambassadors, and relations are gradually warming.