Turkish FM: We don't hate Israel
Ahmet Davutoglu brushes aside leaked US diplomatic cable that described him as 'exceptionally dangerous', says tensions with Jewish state come from sharp policy disagreements
Turkey's foreign minister brushed aside on Wednesday a leaked US diplomatic cable that described him as "exceptionally dangerous."
Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Washington that documents released by WikiLeaks "will not affect our foreign policy."
Many of the leaked documents include assessments by US diplomats of foreign officials. Davutoglu said he sees such assessments as the views of individuals rather than of the US government.
"I look in the mirror and don't see any dangerous face," he said.
The description of Davutoglu came before he was foreign minister in a 2004 cable that quoted Turkey's defense minister.
Davutoglu discussed the documents with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday. He said that Clinton apologized for the leaks.
The foreign minister also dismissed accusations in another cable that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hates Israel. The document says that the Israeli ambassador to Ankara in a meeting with his US counterpart attributed tensions with Turkey to Erdogan's personal animosity.
Davutoglu said tensions come from sharp policy disagreements.
"It is not a problem of anti-Semitism," he said. He added that his government's problems are not with Israel, but with its current government
"It is a matter with the existing government because of failed policies," he said.
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