It has adopted a passive policy. It moved to assume an active policy only on Aug. 11 and 12 with the statements coming from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül. Erdoğan arrived in Moscow on Aug. 13 and moved to Tbilisi on Aug. 14, one day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Throughout the Russian-Georgian conflict, Turks were most concerned about the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceylan (BTC) oil pipeline, not the Georgian, Abkhazian or Ossetian people. Even in the middle of the war, Ankara's main agenda was Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Turkey. It is striking and worthwhile to note that opposition party leaders, namely Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli and Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, refrained from making statements on the Georgian-Russian conflict. Turkish politicians and Parliament's Foreign Relations Commission turned a blind eye to this crisis, alleging as a pretext that the parliamentary recess would last until October.
What can Turkey do now? Among Turkey's foreign policy priorities are the European Union, Cyprus and the Middle East (especially Iraq). Turkey should include the Caucasus among those priorities because Turkey shares a border with the Caucasus and because it is the only country in the world that shares a kinship with all the peoples of the Caucasus. Therefore, the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency's (TİKA) influence in the region should be increased in order to realize projects in the areas of culture, education and economy. Turkish civil society organizations that want to be active in the region should also be encouraged.
When it comes to Georgia, policies need not only Tbilisi-centered but should expand their scope. For example, Turkey should consult with Tbilisi on how to establish economic, cultural and humanitarian links with the Abkhazian people.
There are only four months left for the Meskhetian Turks' return to Georgia, but the necessary conditions for their return have not yet been established. Georgia has been unwilling to provide the conditions and Turkey has not been organized enough to facilitate the process. Therefore, the Dec. 31 deadline for their return should be extended.
Together with the southern Caucasian countries and the Russian Federation, Turkey should work on the Stability and Cooperation Platform in the Caucasus. In order to prevent further clashes in the region and to ease the present ones, the project "Caucasus Home" -- made up of intellectuals -- should be supported with the participation of Turkish intellectuals and NGOs.
The "Balkan Club" could also be copied in the Caucasus so as to foster informal dialogue and thus prevent conflicts. Turkey and the Russian Federation could also reconsider the "Eurasia Cooperation Action Plan," which was signed on Nov. 16, 2001. In addition, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), which was established at Turkey's initiative, could be restructured to include political developments as well.
Tension will remain high in the region until the Russian Federation gets what it wants. Unless Georgia makes up its mind about Abkhazia and South Ossetia, it will not be able to merge with the European-Atlantic world. This war has shown Turkey that it needs to promote polices to include all of our kin in the Caucasus.
