Wie man einen Partner vertreibt
Joschka Fischer, Süddeutsche Zeitung
July 12 2010

Turkey’s No to UN sanctions against Iran shows a widening gulf between Turkey and the West. But fears of a “neo-Ottoman” phase with Erdogan’s country are groundless. What this new political turn means is that Europe will begin to take Turkey seriously as a power and not just a customer. Ever since France and Germany changed their leaders (Chirac giving way to Sarkozy, Schröder to Merkel) Europe has defaulted on its promises to Turkey. The Turks are in a strategic position geographically, militarily and energy-wise and the EU cannot afford to see them drift the other way – towards Russia and Iran, her traditional rivals. But Turkey needs the West too: the UN vote against Iranian sanctions was a blunder. As for relations between Turkey and Israel, Europe is asking too much to be able to mediate – any more than we can in central Europe or the Caucasus. The saying still holds: “late-comers get punished by life” (Wer zu spät kommt, den bestraft das Leben).