i have been privileged to serve in ankara during the arab spring, which i tried for the nato role in libya, to democracy in egypt and in collaboration with my friend in syria to pressure the regime in syria to cease its brutal repression and to heed the will of its people. just as the turkish government has played a role in promoting these political transitions, its government and private sector are also keen to support economic development in egypt and tunisia that are so critical to the long-term stability in the region by increasing their trade and investment in those countries. and wherever possible, turkey as a government and turkish firms are looking for partnerships with american firms. while we share many goals with turkey, one of the most important is countering global terrorism and networks, and turkey has been one of our strongest partners in their pursuit. just last month, turkish security officials arrested an alleged al qaeda cell that was plotting to bomb western interests in turkey, including the united states embassy. we support turkey's own foremost security objecti

director general of the israeli ministry of foreign affairs and also a former israeli head of mission to ankara turkey dr thank you very much for joining us here on r.t. how unexpected is it that athens has come to israel's aid in stopping this year's gaza bound for tele greece was never so close to israel in the change is a recent change especially on the military dimension did greece save israel from another public relations disaster. actually helped put saved israel this. it was the to pull up the biggest and the most important ship of the flotilla. in dissipate the in this useful claim or would you say that the period in relationship between israel and turkey is the main reason why israel and greece have grown closer together definitely or was the only reason. when the relations between israel and turkey were very close and their armies were so close training to the israel supply. point of view it was almost unthinkable to be in the military link with greece but the change was a very dramatic change to a few years ago it will it was almost natural for israel to cry and the response was very

director general of the israeli ministry of foreign affairs and also a former israeli head of mission to ankara turkey dr thank you very much for joining us here on r.t. how unexpected is it that athens has come to israel's aid in stopping this year's gaza bound for tella greece was never so close to israel and the change is a recent change especially on the military dimension did greece save israel from another public relations disaster. differently helped save israel. it was the to pull out the biggest the worst important ship of the flotilla mavi marmara in. this year's floor cleaner would you say that the theory eating relationship between israel and turkey is the main reason why israel and greece have grown closer together definitely. was the only reason. when the relations between israel and turkey were very close and our misrule so close craning the israel supply. point of view it was almost unthinkable to build the military link with greece but with the change was a very dramatic change to another few years ago it will it was almost letter and for israel to cry and the response was very

this time there have been tensions in the relationship between the community in northern cyprus and ankara. there have been protests back and forth. so they identify themselves as sip reyots, from my understanding -- as cipriots, from my understanding. tush irk cipriots, but cypriots. i wouldn't want to guess how far he'd go to make a difference. >> i wasn't asking you so much about him but the assignment where you're at, turkey and its influence in this decision making process. from our perspective, i've been following this almost 20 years now, it's clear to me ta turkey has a significant influence into whether or not this issue is resolved or not in a way that's acceptable both to greek and turkish cypriots and the international community. i get a sense based on the prime minister's most recent statements that it's become more onerous, not less so, to achieve that goal. let me turn to another issue. which i'm sure you'll want to be diplomatic about. and that is the question of -- as our ambassador to turkey in this interrelationship with armenia. from your view, has the united states eve

they have been serving as ambassadors in prague and ankara.an appointment only lasts for one calendar men so these two men have been renominated and the committee will reconsider their nominations. as the subcommittee chair on european affairs, i was supportive of those nominations last year, and i intend to support their nominations once again. since both men have already been serving in these roles we'll have an excellent chance to hear from them directly about the challenges they've already seen and their plans for the future. so welcome back to the committee, gentlemen. thank you both for being willing to go through the nomination process again and to continue to take on these difficult responsibilities at a very important time for our country. so first today we will consider the u.s. relationship with the czech republic. as an important ally of the united states in central europe, the czech republic has demonstrated exceptional leadership in europe, particularly in engaging the region's eastern neighborhood and pressing for further europe

stars to my famous go under a kid in ankara and teammates kept attacking conjuring up silly benson moves and so all the defending on the seven ends it seems russia will once again be more into the favorites in louisiana as they aim to regain the crown they claimed in two thousand and seven ninety one seven to six their final score it beat showdown likely on the cards sooner rather than later in the lives of euro busken will to win eleven no obviously this team is a little different than last for years because we have that quality factor of caroline go on a more mature goal the most important thing though is that other guys that have played in the last few competitions are now showing their maturity and their level which is appropriate for playing teams like lithuania at the most i really like the way we play tonight especially in defense we are working hard to improve it in and as a result we play more aggressively and put a lot more pressure on the opponent i think it will become our trademark during euro basket. with only the finalists automatically looking this board for next year's l

of this insurrection and then we also have to learn what is your proof of these allegations that ankara and i had already had. a couple of months it's. syria oh yeah this year i actually i left the country shortly before this started but i have been following the press reports and i got relying on the government sources i've are allowing on the lebanese. lebanese israeli and western sources if you read but between realize be a village existence of an armed insurrection. and they also acknowledge the fact that the police beat shot on it so to right from the beginning you have to read the press reports very carefully we're dealing with a big as far as the get information this has. the media don't even have access to syria so they are there drumming up a whole series of interpretations which are from my standpoint biased. ulcerate information and i heard you got a big allegations coming out as to cheat is also an interesting perspective on what's going on in syria say maybe. the center for research on globalization and speaking to us from montreal thank you. ok there is no let up on the fr

have been back to turkey there have been tensions in the relationship between northern cyprus and ankara. there were protests back and forth. they identify themselves with cyprus. it is a distinct identity. beyond that i wouldn't wish to hazard guess how far mr. heirloom would go in making decisions -- >> i was asking about him so much as the assignment where you are in turkey and its influence in the decisionmaking process. from my perspective on have been following this for 20 years. it is clear to me that turkey has a significant influence in whether or not this issues is resolved in a way that is acceptable to greek and turkish and the international community. i get a sense based on the prime minister's most recent statements that it has become more onerous to try to achieve that goal. let me turn to another issue you will want to be diplomatic about. and that is the question as our ambassador to turkey in the relationship with armenia. has the united states ever denied the fact that there was an armenian genocide? >> i stand behind president obama's characterization as the armenians

and i'm often in touch with my colleague ambassador ricciardone up in ankara. the turks have a very deep court date commercial relationship that they've been building up for years. they had personal relations between the turkish relationship is searan relationship that they wanted to fostered and build. i think the turks even yesterday, i'm sorry, president wool is very critical of the latest syrian measures. the turks have perhaps a unique capability both to talk to the syrians at several levels because over the years they've built those contacts and also were they to adopt sanctions, for example, i think those two would bite. >> that's something i hope we can continue to foster because that kind of help in the region could be very significant. i was in the region last -- in july of 2010. and one of our second to last stop was in beirut and lebanon. and i could -- i could sense almost feel the heavy presence of hezbollah in lebanon. and i wanted to get your sense about the implications of the unrest and the violence in syria, the implications for lebanon. and

request when bashir visited ankara. again there should have been an arrest made and this man prosecuted for genocide. >> mr. chairman last year kenyan and i graded his new constitution and the u.s. government had a lot to do with bringing that constitution and mr. bashir was the main story. his residence in nairobi kenya so he is showing up all over the place and nobody seems to be concerned about his arrest warrant. >> thank you. mr. payne. >> thank you very much, and i couldn't agree more that the international criminal court i think is a great institution, however we know that it is very difficult to have a court without having an enforcement mechanism and of course that is a very weak part of the international criminal court. at one time it was thought that it's a cold being an organization police throughout europe anyway could perhaps serve as an enforcement arm, but the question is how do you apprehend the criminal? in our country without police, we would have no use for courts. but i do believe that we should con

have made clear that what he is doing is not going to receive any sort of solace or support out of ankara. the turks are the one nato nation that fights against an active terrorist group in their own southeast corner. th are also a nation that we work quietly with in a common cause. >> the next question relates to command relationships. could you talk a little bit about special operations command, and its relationship with cencom, and how that is coordinated for individual strikes? >> any special operations command troops come under my command when they are inside central command. special operations command provides me ny seals or army green berets, army rangers, air force spial tactics, marines, and they come in under special forces. i have a navy commander, army commander, air force, marine, and special forces. they worked in an integrated way. we picked the force with the right skill set that will accomplish the mission. it is a close, warm, and respected relationship. we have been -- the combatant commander has used most of the special forces over the last 10 years. after 10 years of

have made clear that what he is doing is not going to receive any sort of solace or support out of ankara. i think is a positive influence the turks have had they are the one it made a nation that fight against an active insurgency -- the one nato nation that fights against an active insurgency in their own borders. we work on a common cause. >> the next question relates to commander relationships. could you talk a little bit about special operations command and its relationship with centcom, and how that is coordinated for individual strikes? >> well, any special operations command troops come under my command when they are inside central command special operations command provides me navy seals, army green berets, army rangers, air force special tactics, marines, and they come in under a special forces. under my command, i have in the commander, army commander, air force, marine, special forces commander, and basically, they work in an integrated way and we take the force that has the right skills that whatever the mission is. it is a very close, warm, respected relationship, because we