Turkish PM accuses US of double standards

ANKARA (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday accused the United States of double standards in the Middle East, but insisted that Washington remained a "lasting friend" of his country.

Erdogan's remarks came in a passionate speech on his Islamist-rooted government's close ties with Iran and tensions with Israel which have sparked concern in Washington that NATO's sole mainly Muslim member is sliding from the West.

"Breaking away from the West or the East is neither possible nor right for Turkey. This is an undeniable fact that history has shown," Erdogan told deputies of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament.

"The country that can comprehend best Turkey's mission and importance is our lasting friend, the United States," he said.

Erdogan conceded "occasional" differences with Washington stemming from "the employment of different methods and a different listing of priorities" in regional affairs.

In a veiled criticism of US policies in the Middle East, he said: "You speak about democracy but then you do all things contrary to democracy... When it is convenient, you side with totalitarian authoritarian regimes and when it is convenient you speak of democracy."

Erdogan defended Turkey's "no" vote to fresh sanctions against Iran adopted at the UN Security Council last week, and insisted on a diplomatic solution, pointing to a nuclear fuel swap deal that Turkey and Brazil brokered with the Islamic republic in May.

He said the terms of the deal, which Washington dismissed as inadequate, were drawn up in line with points raised by US President Barack Obama in an earlier letter to Turkey and Brazil.

"Our region is exhausted from wars. You see what is happening in Iraq... Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed... Was that worth getting rid of Saddam Hussein? Unfortunately, according to that mentality, it was," he said.

But Erdogan nonetheless pledged cooperation with Washington.

"The reflections of our alliance have been visible around the world for decades... In many regions, Turkey and the United States share common objectives.

"The US administration led by President Obama should comprehend very well that Turkey's foreign policy attitude is of a quality that will not curb this cooperation but make it more efficient," he said.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said Washington is "disappointed" by Turkey's attitude on Iran and expressed concern over its ties with Israel, which plunged into deep crisis after Israel's May 31 raid on Gaza-bound aid that claimed the lives of nine Turks.

Gates said the EU's refusal to offer Turkey a swift accession process into the union had partly caused Ankara's shift.

Erdogan harshly denied that his party, the moderate offshoot of a banned Islamist movement, was taking Turkey away from the West.

He slammed the concerns as the result of "black propaganda by Israel-backed international media" and accused critical Turkish media of acting as "intermediaries" in what he described as a campaign to weaken the AKP.

"Turkey's axis is not shifting, it is expanding... Turkey is acting in line with its own interests and not the interests of others," he said, dismissing the country's overwhelming pro-Western orientation in the past as "a foreign policy that stood on one foot".