[TURKISH DIPLOMACY IN 2009] Turkey’s steps toward integration with Eastern neighbors trigger debates

The cliché had a mission in line with Cold War rhetoric; Turkey’s geographic uniqueness highlighted the geo-strategic significance of this country and made its citizens feel proud of their country, while the presence of enemies on all fronts helped maintain a mood of alarm within the country. The so-called balance of power and weakness helped the status quo endure in regard to both domestic and foreign affairs.

If 2008 can be called the year when Turkey actively implemented its zero problems with neighbors policy, 2009 can be labeled the year during which Turkey actively moved to have maximum cooperation with certain neighbors -- namely Iran, Iraq and Syria. The dazzling speed of the progress in relations with these countries, supported by concrete steps of bilateral cooperation, has led to a confusion of minds as to whether Turkey is turning its back on its decades-old Western alliance and moving toward a new alliance in the East.

Most of those assumptions were really a result of confusion, yet some of those comments appeared to be malevolent, since their arguments had a tone of “putting Ankara in its place” in a blunt attempt to dictate to Ankara that it continue playing a solely regional and so-called bridge role between the East and the West.

In the meantime, Ankara has tirelessly stated that it has long abandoned the limiting paradigms which defined its role according to the Cold War mentality and that rather than changing its direction, it has simply been expanding its relations.

Changing nature of fronts

Here are some of the facts concerning the course of affairs in Turkey’s relationship with some of its neighbors in the Middle East in the year 2009.

In mid-October, 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 issues such as 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.

On Dec. 23, as he co-chaired with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a top level meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between the two countries in Damascus, Erdoğan vowed to build a model partnership with Syria, while he also underlined that Turkey would not give up on its determination to improve ties with neighboring countries such as Syria just because this move is considered by some to be a shift from the West to the East.

During the meeting, the two countries signed 51 cooperation agreements in a wide range of areas including water, energy, health, culture, security, trade, electricity, oil and natural gas.

Remarkably, on the very same day, al-Assad revealed that Turkey was involved in efforts to resolve problems between Syria and Lebanon. He said Turkey had a role in the recent rapprochement between Damascus and Beirut and added that “a few people know about this.” He did not elaborate.

On Oct. 28, during a visit to Tehran, Erdoğan defended Iran’s nuclear program as peaceful, and Turkish officials announced a deal to explore for natural gas in Iran’s South Pars basin, which has added to Western concerns that Turkey might be forsaking its alliance with the West to pursue a leadership role in its neighborhood.

One has to admit that of all of those relationships, the one between Ankara and Tehran is less than rosy, with the latter constantly delivering ambiguous responses to questions on Turkey’s possible role in the dispute surrounding this country’s controversial nuclear program.

Still, Turkey has not given up on its intense efforts to persuade Iran to act more cooperatively with the West, while also urging the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany -- the P5+1 -- to develop a modified approach toward Iran if they really want to engage in a healthy dialogue.

Turkey joined the 15-nation UN Security Council as a non-permanent member in January and will have the seat until the end of 2010. Ankara’s efforts are in a way dedicated to maintaining a moral stance in order to be able to justify its decision, whether it is eventually “yes” or “no,” when there is a vote at the UN Security Council on imposing sanctions on Iran.

Mesopotamia and optimism

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was Erdoğan’s chief foreign policy adviser from 2002 until he was appointed to his current post in May and is seen as the architect of Turkey’s foreign policy, which is getting rid of its “Cold War chains.”

During an August visit to Baghdad, the goal of which was to prepare for the first meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council with Iraq, Davutoğlu, a professor of political science and international relations, said: “We want the Mesopotamian region to once again become one of the most productive and prosperous regions in the world in all fields. We offer limitless cooperation for turning our region once more into the rising star of the world.”

Davutoğlu’s explanation of his own optimism, which is best seen in his reference to the ancient civilization in the Middle East, is actually quite clear. In remarks delivered following an official visit to Tehran in the first half of September, Davutoğlu said his policy understanding was based on “deliberate optimism.”

“I’m an optimist. It is not possible to take action without being optimistic. I believe in what I do until the end; otherwise, I cannot persuade anybody,” he said at the time.

Earlier this week, Erdoğan, delivering a speech at a ceremony where he was granted an award dedicated to the memory of the late President Turgut Özal for his contributions to global peace, reflected the same optimism. Erdoğan said Turkey has been eliminating fears that amount to paranoia about being surrounded by enemies. Turkey is no longer a country surrounded by the sea on three sides and by enemies on all sides, Erdoğan asserted.