Turkey seeks regional peace with moral responsibility in mind

The halay is performed both in happy and sad times, while, zılgıt, or “tilili,” is the cry of the Kurdish woman, her voice's exclamation, a shout trilled on the tongue, and is done for uttering words that cannot be voiced both in cheerful times and times of mourning.

These were happening on Tuesday during a ceremony at the Öncüpınar border gate on the Turkish side of the Turkish-Syrian border, which witnessed a symbolic gesture reflecting remarkable progress in bilateral relations between the two countries with the signing of a historic deal by the foreign ministers of the two countries, which had come to the brink of war more than a decade ago.

There, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Moallem, officially signed an agreement to end visa requirements between the two countries.

Both Davutoğlu and al-Moallem called Tuesday “a historic day,” while the former also said the day was like a “third Eid for the peoples of Syria and Turkey,” referring to the two Muslim religious Eids in a year.

Additionally, Davutoğlu, a professor of political science and international relations, said the day might also be considered a “wedding” since it was uniting the peoples of Syria and Turkey like uniting two families.

Zılgıt is also done twice during weddings, firstly when the bride leaves her father's house and secondly when she arrives at the groom and his family's house. The ululation during weddings celebrates the union of the two families.

The enthusiastic move displayed at the Öncüpınar border gate was only one aspect of Ankara's bold foreign policy moves regarding its region. Through such moves, Turkey aims at going beyond a “zero-problem policy” in its neighborhood by reaching out for the creation of an atmosphere of maximum cooperation among all its neighbors.

The ceremony at the Öncüpınar border gate was a means for remembering the notion and meaning of fraternity in these lands, which have a centuries-long history full of both deeply rooted grievances as well as unique examples of joy shared by peoples of different ethnic origins. Turkey and its neighbors have shared such a history, which led to the composing of thousands of songs in common with themes of love, exile and migration, one of which is “Sarı Gelin” (Sarı Gyalin in Armenian) (Yellow Bride).

The Sarı Gelin/Sarı Gyalin song, commonly sung everywhere by Turks and Armenians as well as Azerbaijanis and Persians, was sung together by a visiting Armenian delegation and locals of Bursa earlier this week when the city hosted a World Cup qualifying match between the national teams of Armenia and Turkey that brought together the presidents of the estranged neighbors.

Choreography and diplomacy

Looking at the calendar of diplomatic actions involving Turkey just during this past week might be helpful in understanding whether Ankara's foreign policy is guided by words or deeds -- without forgetting that words do also matter as Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel once observed that “words can sometimes, in moments of grace, attain the quality of deeds.”

Oct. 10, Saturday: Davutoğlu and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, signed two protocols in Zurich for re-establishing their diplomatic relations and opening their joint border.

Oct. 13, Tuesday: While Davutoğlu and al-Moallem officially signed an agreement to end visa requirements between the two countries, the Syrian city of Aleppo and the Turkish city of Gaziantep were venues of a ministerial-level meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, with the first part of the meeting being held in Aleppo and the second in Gaziantep.

Oct. 14, Wednesday: The presidents of Turkey and Armenia watched a World Cup soccer match side-by-side in a show of unity meant to help defuse opposition to an agreement to reopen their border and restore relations. Turkey's president, Abdullah Gül, and Armenia's Serzh Sarksyan shook hands and smiled to applause in the tightly policed stadium, in a scene unthinkable before the two countries launched a peace process.

Oct. 15, Thursday: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in Baghdad, where Turkey and Iraq took a giant step forward to boost ties, signing more than 40 agreements ranging from fighting Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorism to energy cooperation and water sharing. Erdoğan and his Iraqi counterpart, Nouri al-Maliki, presided over the first joint cabinet meeting of the two governments under the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

The calendar above in a way reflects that choreography was not only in the dances performed at the Öncüpınar border gate. In remarks admitting delicate planning behind the calendar, Turkish diplomatic sources have told Sunday's Zaman that the fact that this visa agreement with Syria followed the signing of protocols with Armenia for the normalization of ties and that Erdoğan's visit to Baghdad came after Sarksyan's visit to Bursa at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart, Gül, to watch the 2010 World Cup qualifying second-leg match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams have “not been a coincidence at all.”

Such a calendar is a message to both governments and peoples, the same diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. According to the sources, the message the Armenian side should read from the Syrian-Turkish border opening is clear: “If we are lifting visa requirements for a border that was at one time mined and used as a refuge by terrorists, then we can easily open the border with Armenia. However, to do so, Armenia, like Syria, should clearly state its intention for permanent peace with Turkey.”

Moral depth

At a news conference held in the border city of Gaziantep on Tuesday evening at which Syrian and Turkish ministers responded to questions following the first ministerial-level meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, a Syrian journalist recalled Davutoğlu's academic work and the concept of “Strategic Depth,” a brainchild of the minister. The name of the concept is also the title of an international relations book penned by Davutoğlu and published in 2001.

In response to the Syrian journalist's question on regional cooperation, Davutoğlu particularly highlighted the notion of “moral depth,” which he said should not be ignored while pursuing foreign policy goals.

“We attach great importance to countries having infrastructures that enable them to resolve their own problems. The infrastructure of regional unity projects should be well settled through gradually developing bilateral relations between countries and through gradually developing infrastructures but not via slogans and assertive remarks. If we had attempted to hold much more comprehensive meetings with Syria instead of lifting the visa requirement, then we would not have gained a result. The real step is establishing a concrete ground in the real field,” Davutoğlu said, in remarks reflecting Turkey's awareness of the long and winding road ahead for building a fully peaceful atmosphere with its neighbors.