Israel and Turkey signed a military pact in 1996 that reversed years of frosty ties, but Turkey has begun to waver on support to the U.S.A. as well as Israel. Turkey is an ally of both the United States and Israel, but Turkey's close ties with Israel included military agreements and military cooperation such as in the recent Air force maneuvers using F15 and F16 fighter jets. But that may be changing. Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said after talks with Yasser Arafat last fall indicated he supported the principle of Palestinian statehood. But was even more disturbing was that Arafat pointed out that Turkish soldiers are in the West Bank city of Hebron assisting a Palestinian army unit.
Turkey is an important regional power and it is continuing to move toward the Arab world.
President Suleyman Demirel visited Egypt last year with hopes increasing economic cooperation and to consolidate already close political ties with Cairo. In their eyes, Turkey is the linch-pin to stability in the area. Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said Ankara and Damascus are discussing a framework for military cooperation that would include mutual visits by commanders, joint training and invitations to exercises. They said the issue was first explored during a visit by a Syrian military delegation to Ankara in January. Officials said Turkey has even proposed to Syria projects to jointly develop defensive systems that would increase border surveillance.