Word: westerns
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...combination of the failure of the long-established Western and Arab players to manage Israel's conflicts with its neighbors and a seismic political shift underway in Turkey has prompted Ankara to seek to restore some of the regional clout enjoyed by its Ottoman forebears. Since its election in 2002, the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) has renewed political and trade relations across the Middle East, promoting itself as a mediator in long-standing conflicts. It achieved a breakthrough in May by bringing together Syria and Israel for their first direct talks in eight years, and it played...
Russia's decision to choke off natural gas supplies to a shivering Western Europe couldn't have come at a worse moment - and that's just as Moscow would have it. As icy temperatures chill European households normally heated by Russian gas, a diplomatic race is underway to resolve the Russo-Ukraine dispute behind the cut. But Moscow seems in no hurry...
...Hamas' popularity was cemented in the 2006 parlimentary elections in the volatile region, when it won 74 out of 132 seats in a result that shocked Israeli and Western observers. Fatah's refusal to relinquish control following the election forced an explosive week-long showdown between western-backed Fatah forces and Hamas; the infighting culminated the expulsion of Fatah security forces from Gaza and a de facto divide of the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority between the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which remained under Fatah control...
...Turkey is playing a far more proactive role in the region; we recognize that," says a Western diplomat based in Ankara. "A country that is Muslim but secular, with close links to the West and Israel but also good relations with Arab countries, is obviously very helpful in terms of mediation and promoting regional solutions to regional problems...
...area in which Turkey can contribute is by providing troops for a peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip, where Western monitors might face hostility on the ground. "The military contribution is important," said the Western official. "Turkey has done a good job as part of military contingents in Lebanon and Afghanistan. Their ability to talk to all sides in the conflict [in Gaza] means they have real credibility, and as a NATO member they have a professional military, so [they] are well placed to be effective...