Not to mention the fact that he wasn't even able to reduce with the help of pro-Turkish congressmen the aid provided to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. And, finally, according to Ankara, strengthening of the Armenian lobby at the expense of converting Israeli lobbyists was on Sensoy's conscience. It's no secret that the Israeli lobby, which used to actively support Turkey, has begun to treat its ally rather coldly. It should be stressed that the Turkish government itself is doing its best for the Israeli lobby to walk away from Turkey, and great is Erdogan's credit in this issue. After all, it was him who developed a certain attitude toward the Jews in his country, and the Ambassador has nothing to do here…
Sensoy actually torpedoed the visit of Erdogan, who for some reason hoped that all his statements in Ankara and Baku could work with Obama too. Thus, on a large scale the Ambassador is not to blame; he just paid for his leadership. However, let us say that the price he paid was not so high, taking into account that most likely Nabi Sensoy will be sent somewhere else as an ambassador or will remain in the Foreign Ministry personnel. Obviously he will not remain jobless.
But here we must recall some of the recent history of the US-Turkish relations. For years, the American-Turkish Association (ATA) was led by Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder and executive of the American record label Atlantic Records, signing for the first time Ray Charles and other jazz and R&B stars. Ertegun was a big name in the American show business and as such, skillfully represented the interests of Turkey at the Capitol and the White House.. After his death in 2006, there started a period of depression, which is not yet outdone.
Though now the Turkish President travels through the Islamic world, enters into contract for the sake of "Islamic solidarity", in fact he follows the road to regional leadership. Ankara, in this case may lose the U.S. and European confidence in Turkey, which is not in the interests of either Turkey, or the United States and EU. Turkey cannot become a leader in the Islamic world; there are enough candidates even without her, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia…
Erdogan's visit brought forth one more detail: actually becoming a hostage to the interests of Azerbaijan in the hope that Baku would transport hydrocarbons through Turkey and would sell the gas at a very low price, Ankara led herself into a deadlock, from where she can find a way out only by ratifying the Protocols. In any other case she will have to suffer a defeat. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) is ready to accept neither of the options. There is also the scandalous case against "Ergenekon" on the assassination of Hrant Dink, which has been suspended for some reason, and finally the increasingly vague hopes of Turkey to enter EU. All these facts may prove to be interrelated in the near future, and then the AKP will finally lose its confidence vote. The consequences are apparent – instability, new elections and a threat of military coup, to which Turkey is no stranger.
All this story has only one negative point – the Armenian Genocide issue has once again become a bargaining chip in US-Turkish relations, and can again play a "fatal" role in any Armenian-Turkish negotiation, not to mention the attempts to normalize relations.
