In a recent interview with Newsweek, Davutoğlu also said Turkey will become a key player in world organizations shaping global economic decisions. “I see a country that has managed to start economic integration and has solid relations with all its neighbors. Also, a country that has become a member of the EU,” he said. “I see a Turkey which keeps an effective role within NATO and which is also a key player not only in security-related fields but also in economic organizations such as G20. I do not think these objectives are unreachable by the year 2023, the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic, 14 years from now.”
Davutoğlu’s prediction is consistent with widespread expectations that Turkey will need at least another decade to join the EU. Turkey has been a candidate since 1999 and has been conducting accession negotiations with the now-27-member bloc since 2005 but progress has been limited amid tensions over the Cyprus problem and reluctance in some EU countries, including France and Germany, to let the predominantly Muslim nation in.
Davutoğlu dismissed claims that Turkey was leaving the Western camp for closer ties with the East, saying it had to assume a dynamic role in all its neighboring regions due to the new global circumstances that emerged in the aftermath of the end of Cold War. He emphasized that ties with the West still form the main premise of the Turkish foreign policy.
“Turkey’s most institutionalized relationship remains its membership of NATO -- this is Turkey’s strongest tie. Similarly, the main objective of Turkish foreign policy is integration with Europe,” Davutoğlu said in the interview, published on Saturday. “Our history is part of Europe’s, our culture is part of Europe’s, and our process of modernization is parallel to the developments in Europe. Our membership of NATO and the negotiation process with the EU is the strategic priority of Turkey.” However, he added: “But it doesn’t mean that because of these strong ties we can ignore the Middle East, we can ignore Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, or Africa.”
Davutoğlu likened Turkey’s current foreign policy, based on the principle of “zero problems with neighbors,” including Iran, to Germany’s Ostpolitik (detente with the Soviet bloc) in the 1960s and said Europe’s history presented a good example for Turkey to follow in creating regional integration following disputes. “Europe is a beautiful example to follow -- I mean, the generation that fought [World War II] and caused millions of deaths in Europe was the same generation that established the European Union. We want to be a part of this beautiful example and to reflect this experience onto other regions,” he said.
The foreign minister also appeared to dismiss criticism that Turkey is turning a blind eye to the humanitarian tragedy in Darfur for the sake of good relations with President Omar al-Bashir. “When President al-Bashir came to Turkey, our president criticized him in a most sincere and open way. We think that we have managed to develop a morally responsible relationship with Sudan,” he said.
