Obama: the ultimate politician!

As Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stood by Obama's side grinning like a schoolboy, the black fog which has engulfed relations between the West, particularly the US, and the Kremlin (in particular since Russia's invasion of Georgia) seemed to lift. But of course in reality this is not the case, and the problems of the world are not going to be righted that easily. Obama has many difficult decisions ahead of him. This visit was clearly something of a charm offensive, and although his visit to Europe ended in unity on most issues, it seemed to be more because the US accepted Europe's unwillingness to compromise on some key issues and therefore backed off. He is presently trying to please everybody and clean up the wreckage left by George W. Bush. With the Russians, there was no fundamental shift in relations; and on the issue of the now infamous Missile Defense Shield planned for Poland and the Czech Republic, he remained diplomatically vague on what the final outcome would be. There are many gaps to be bridged, which also became apparent in the aftermath of the recent long-range missile testing in North Korea, with a tough reaction coming from the West, while the Russians and Chinese chose softer words.

As elsewhere, Obama was welcomed in Turkey with great enthusiasm. Ever since his election, anti-American feelings in Turkey have been ebbing away, and in two days he seems to have fixed the image of the US, which was annihilated by Bush. Before even putting one foot on Turkish soil, Obama had already wooed Turkey's population. First, for the crucial role he played in resolving the standoff between Turkey and NATO over the candidature of Anders Fogh Rasmussen. This resulted in Turkey boosting its standing in NATO, reaffirming that the country is becoming an increasingly powerful player and showed European nations that the US sees Turkey as an increasingly crucial partner.

He was also praised for reiterating US support for Turkish membership of the EU. Clearly his words were not well received by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, but nevertheless with the amount of political clout Obama is carrying these days, I feel that behind closed doors the EU may well heed his words and it hopefully will help give a boost to the flagging EU-Turkey relationship. Furthermore, by ending his European tour in Turkey, Obama reaffirmed Turkey's place in the West while also sending a strong message to EU friends that Washington sees Ankara as doing a job the EU cannot -- particularly when it comes to key issues such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

And once in Turkey, the wooing continued. There is no doubt that Obama wants Turkey back at Washington's side given that his key foreign policy challenges are all in Turkey's backyard. For the US to be successful he needs the full backing and support of Ankara. This was clear when he said the US's partnership with the Muslim world was critical and that Turkey was a crucial ally. Apart from broad geopolitical themes, Obama also had to tiptoe through some tricky bilateral matters, notably accusations that Turkey committed genocide against Armenians in 1915 -- and again here he played his cards well.

Although Obama, who has previously described the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, said he had not changed his view, it would seem that very wisely, for the time being at any rate, he is not going to rock the boat and follow through on the promises he made during his election campaign. He did not use the word genocide and also expressed belief that this was an issue for Turkey and Armenia to resolve bilaterally. Obama understood that Turkey's rapprochement with Armenia is reaching a critical stage, with rumors spreading that the border between the two countries, which has been closed since 1993, is on the verge of being opened. Such an opening will be a crucial step to changing not only the dynamic between Turkey and Armenia but it also has significant implications for the balance of power in the Caucasus.