How we have longed for a “diplomatic victory” and a thank you from the US!..

Five days ago, 26 spy-prisoners in prisons in the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus were exchanged at Ankara Esenboğa Airport.

But what an exchange!.. It was almost broadcast live... The pro-government media went wild; for days they have been describing this operation, which felt like a movie, as having been carried out under the coordination of the MIT (National Intelligence Organization).

This enthusiasm was not limited to the media; Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz himself, after explaining that as Turkey, under Erdoğan's leadership, they have made an intense effort to establish peace and tranquility at the regional and global level, said, "The prisoner exchange, which was brought to life in Ankara thanks to the multilateral diplomacy of our MIT Presidency, has been a concrete example of our position as a country that produces solutions." Yılmaz did not neglect to express his gratitude to Erdoğan for "leading our country's development in trust and stability"!

AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik also drew attention to the fact that Turkey's position as a key country for regional and global peace has strengthened as a result of the multilateral and peace-oriented diplomacy carried out under Erdoğan's leadership, and stated that they would continue to contribute to regional and global peace with the motto of "peace at home, peace in the world," congratulating everyone who contributed.

HAVE WE BEEN CELEBRATING OUR OWN SUCCESS?

That is the situation domestically. Let us also look at the statements of our counterparts.

The pro-government media used the phrase "the exchange operation managed by the MIT" in every news report; but as far as we can see, hardly anyone mentioned Turkey's name, let alone the MIT's.

For example, EU Council President Charles Michel, who stated that he "welcomed the release of 16 people unjustly imprisoned by the Russian regime," thanked the European countries that helped the exchange take place.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola was content to say, "I welcome the release, albeit delayed, of... opposition figures and journalists who were unlawfully held by Russia. Their freedoms should never have been jeopardized."

Even Russia thanked the administrations of all countries that helped prepare the exchange operation, while NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg and the NATO Spokesperson used the phrase "NATO allies."

According to the pro-government media, only Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen congratulated "Turkey's diplomatic success."

WHAT MATTERS IS BIDEN'S THANKS!

As for Washington, which Ankara looks into the eyes of and never refuses, no matter what harm it does to our country;

On the night of the day the exchange took place, the Presidential Communications Directorate announced that Erdoğan had spoken with Biden on the phone.

In the meeting where bilateral relations between Turkey and the US, the Gaza issue, the hostage exchange carried out in Turkey, and regional and global developments were discussed, Erdoğan emphasized that "the Netanyahu administration shows at every step that it does not want a ceasefire and peace, that the images in the US House of Representatives created deep disappointment in Turkey and the world, that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh dealt a heavy blow to ceasefire efforts, and that Israel is working to spread the fire in Gaza to the entire region." He then said that "Turkey is doing its best to develop Turkey-US relations in every field and will continue to do so."

Biden, on the other hand, thanked Erdoğan for his efforts to ensure that the hostage exchange took place without any problems.

IS OUR ONLY CONTRIBUTION ESENBOĞA?

Let us also explain what was said on the US side before and after the exchange and how much our media reported it.

A small detail; but while President Biden stated in his written statement that he was "grateful to allies such as Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey who contributed," the Anadolu Agency changed this order and put Turkey at the very beginning.

In his statement to the cameras at the White House, Biden noted that the prisoners leaving Russia "flew to Turkey earlier that day" and said the following:

"Many countries contributed to this. At my request, they participated in difficult and complex negotiations. And I personally thank these countries again... This deal would not have been possible without our allies Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey. They all took action and supported us."

Biden, who specifically thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with the words, "What they asked of me required me to get some important concessions from Germany, which they had initially concluded they could not do because of the person in question," was asked by journalists whether he had discussed this issue with Erdoğan or any other leader. When asked what he said to Biden, who said "Yes," he gave a meaningless answer.

The most remarkable statement was made by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. While Blinken stated that they were grateful to Germany, Poland, Norway and Slovenia in particular, calling them "a group of our allies who made this deal possible," he used the following expressions for Turkey:

"We also thank the Turkish government for providing a place for the safe return of these individuals to the US and Germany."

THE QUESTION OF SHAME: WAS ANYTHING GIVEN TO THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT?

There is more.

While US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel expressed "appreciation for Turkey, which provided logistical support for the exchange," he did not answer the question of whether Turkey's help was requested regarding the deal made with Moscow.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also explained in a briefing he gave to a group of journalists at the White House via teleconference that "the deal, which also included Germany, Slovenia, Norway and Poland, would go down in history as one of the largest prisoner exchange deals between the US and Russia," and then said, "We are very grateful to Turkey for providing the vital logistical support that made this deal possible."

Sullivan, who described the exchange as Biden's "diplomatic success," responded to a question asking, "Can you confirm that no money was exchanged and no sanctions were eased to facilitate this deal?" with, "Yes, I can confirm that."

Following Sullivan, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked these remarkable questions:

"Can we talk about the support Turkey provided this morning? In the briefing, Jake Sullivan stated that Turkey provided logistical support. But what we are hearing now is that they coordinated the exchange. Is that an accurate description? Also, did the US give anything to the Turkish government in return for its support?"

Karine Jean-Pierre's answer was as follows:

"Look, as I mentioned when answering a question from one of your colleagues earlier, this was a huge effort. It required our partners and allies to achieve this. Of course, we appreciate every effort they made. I think Jake (Sullivan) was also asked recently if there was a phone call with Erdoğan. Honestly, I have nothing to read [about this] right now. But it was - as you know, they provided technical support. Beyond that, I have nothing to share. But we are very grateful; we are very grateful for the role they were able to play in bringing Americans home today. So I don't have anything beyond what we've already been able to share so far."

WHILE THE GENOCIDE CONTINUES AND HANIYE HAS BEEN KILLED, WHAT IS THIS ZEAL?

Let us end the evaluations regarding our "diplomatic success" in the prisoner exchange here and move on to our main topic.

While the Erdoğan-Biden meeting we mentioned above was not announced on the White House's social media accounts, the meeting Biden had with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the same day was published.

It was noted in the meeting that Biden reiterated "his commitment to Israel's security against all threats from Iran, including the proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis," and also discussed "efforts to support Israel's defense against threats, including ballistic missiles and UAVs, and new US military deployments for defensive purposes."

Indeed, immediately afterwards, we saw news in the pro-government media such as, "The US is coming to protect the murderer," "It is building up military forces in the region with planes and bombers," "The US Department of Defense has decided to send a fleet of F-22 fighter jets to the region."

While Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitri Peskov was making a statement about the prisoner exchange, he emphasized that Putin did not hand over the Americans as a gesture of goodwill, but released them in exchange for the return of his own citizens.

Based on this, what we want to draw attention to is this: Aside from the damage the US has caused to our country, especially its sponsorship of the PKK/PYD/YPG;

Since the Palestinian issue is Ankara's "red line" and Erdoğan has been jumping up and down throughout the past week in the face of the butcher of 150,000 Gazans, Netanyahu, being allowed to speak and receiving a standing ovation in the US Congress, and has been slamming the Western world, saying that "the Crusader mentality is being revived," and on top of that, Ismail Haniyeh, whom he called his "brother," has been killed; what is this zeal we have shown for the US in the prisoner exchange?! Since we are "a key country that produces solutions at the regional and global level"; couldn't this exchange at least have been made a subject of negotiation until things were sorted out in Gaza?!

Yesterday, a writer commented on the situation Germany fell into in the exchange business, saying, "It acted like America's vassal."

As for us, let us be content with saying this:

How we have longed for a "diplomatic victory" and a thank you from the US!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

August 5, 2024