The New York Times

At the U.N., Turkey Asserts Itself in Prominent Ways

By MARK LANDLER Published: September 22, 2010

UNITED NATIONS — If the United Nations General Assembly often serves as a stage for ambitious countries to project a new image, none has grabbed that opportunity this year with as much vigor as Turkey.

In a flurry of speeches and meetings — and one meeting that did not happen — the Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, defended his country’s close ties to Iran, proclaimed Turkey’s intention to become a leader in the Muslim world, and spurned an attempt to mend fences with Israel over its deadly raid on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.

Turkey’s muscle-flexing has left the United States uneasy, with administration officials worried that Iran had obtained access to financing for its nuclear program through Turkish banks, and that Turkey’s rift with Israel could complicate American efforts to make peace in the Middle East.

Israeli officials reached out to Turkey to arrange a meeting this week between Mr. Gul and the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, in New York. But it collapsed amid Israeli claims that Turkey had demanded an apology from Mr. Peres for the flotilla raid and Turkish claims that Mr. Gul had no time — all of which inflamed a sore that the Israelis hoped had been gradually healing.

Turkey’s leaders made no apologies, saying they did not start the fight with Israel. Nor are they shy about Turkey’s ambitions, declaring that its status as a Muslim democracy, its growing economy, and its location at the hinge of Europe and Asia should make it a central player in resolving problems like the Iranian nuclear program and the Middle East conflict. “If you look at all the issues that are of importance to the world today,” Mr. Gul said in an interview on Tuesday, “they have put Turkey in a rather more advantageous position.” Turkey, Mr. Gul said, was the “only country that can have a very important contribution to the diplomatic route” with Iran — a clear reference to its effort, along with Brazil, to head off the last round of United Nations sanctions against Iran. After the United States brushed aside those negotiations, Turkey voted against the sanctions in the Security Council.

Mr. Gul said Turkey would adhere to the United Nations sanctions, but would not allow the measures to constrict its broader trade with Iran.

On Wednesday, Turkey’s trade minister said in Istanbul that the American-led campaign to ban all banking transactions with Iran was a mistake. Turkish officials said it was up to Turkey’s banks and companies to decide whether to go along with tougher unilateral sanctions decreed by the United States and the European Union.

“If the demand is for Turkey not to have any trade, any economic relations with Iran,” Mr. Gul said, “it would be unfair to Turkey.” He claimed that some American and European companies continued to do business with Iran under new names, circumventing the sanctions. “That is why the sanctions do not yield the results that are envisioned for them, in most cases,” he said.

Administration officials and experts on sanctions said that as Dubai and other Persian Gulf emirates had begun to crack down on their banking links to Iran in response to the sanctions, Iran had sought other intermediaries that would give it access to the Western financial system. Turkey is an obvious channel, as is Qatar, these officials said.

“In a climate of financial restrictions and sanctions, Turks are actually increasing their trade with Iran,” said Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former adviser to the Obama administration on Iran. “It stems from their desire to be a pivotal power in the region.”

Treasury Department officials have visited Turkey to urge the government to put the sanctions into effect. The United States has also reminded Turkey of its obligations as a member of NATO.

A Treasury official said that what mattered more than Turkey’s public stance was the response of Turkish banks and companies. He said many were worried that dealing with Iran could have repercussions on their business in the United States and Europe.

Mr. Gul insisted that Turkey did not want to see a nuclear-armed Iran. “The perception here in the U.S. is that what Turkey is doing is in some way undermining U.S. policy,” Mr. Gul said. “That is definitely not the case.”

For now, Turkey’s rift with Israel has hampered its role as a peacemaker in the Middle East. In 2008, Turkey mediated talks between Israel and Syria, but those ended after Israel’s military strike on Gaza, which was harshly criticized by Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr. Gul, an academic who has served as foreign minister, has a less blunt public image than Mr. Erdogan, though both are viewed with concern by critics who fear Turkey is drifting toward a more militant Islamic focus.

After failing to meet Mr. Peres, Mr. Gul made time to see Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He also met Wednesday with representatives of Turkish and American companies at the Plaza Hotel.

Nothing seemed to make Mr. Gul prouder than Turkey’s economy. Turkish bonds, he pointed out, were a safer investment than those of Portugal, Italy and Spain — three members of a European Union that has not yet accepted Turkey. And Turkey did not have to bail out its banks. Mr. Gul recounted a meeting with a head of state this week, in which the leader told him, “Turkey used to be known as the sick man of Europe, whereas Turkey now is the only healthy man of Europe.”

Sebnem Arsu contributed reporting.