‘Relationship with Turkey should be model for Iraq’s regional ties’

    In an exclusive interview with Sunday’s Zaman, Iraq’s government spokesman, Dr. Ali al-Dabbagh, shared hopes for what lies ahead for Iraq, asserting that the worst is over and emphasizing the necessity for a change in the dynamics of the relationship between Iraq and its neighbors. “I think Iraq has passed the critical stage in which we’d needed donations from other countries. … I think that we are capable of financing what we want,” he said.

The politician said that Iraq’s relationship with Turkey was ideal and should serve as a model for functional ties between Iraq and other regional countries.

What is the situation looking like in Iraq right now, after the much-discussed elections?

This is the fourth election. … Iraqis are proud that they achieved such an election despite the violence -- which is connected to the [elections] situation, with violent groups attempting to terrify Iraqis out of going to vote. This proved the bravery of Iraqis in confronting such devilish enemies and underscores their choice of having a democratic country. The message of the Iraqi people is that the only way to rule Iraq is through democratic means, not by any coups or military action. This was one of the benchmarks in the history of the country.

Despite the elections, political tensions remain high in your country. Why is that?

After the elections, there were huge difficulties and problems related to the political situation. It’s not easy … regional influence is involved in the situation, which is a complicating factor. … Let me specify: Iran has a different vision from the others [in the region] for example, and the others are worried that the Iranian influence is on the rise. And in order to counterbalance that influence, they think that they should [exert] the same sort of influence. That is a mistake, just as the Iranian influence is also a mistake. Such a double mistake won’t produce right action. Ultimately, though, I think it is Iraqis who are going to decide -- these influences do have the ability to delay the process, though, and slow the speed down. But in the end, no Iraqi will accept the regional influences, no matter from where it comes, be it Iran, Turkey or Saudi Arabia. They want to have their own way of ruling their country, they don’t want to copy anybody else. Iraqis don’t want, for example, to copy Lebanon’s model. It doesn’t work and won’t work for Iraq.

How is Turkey’s role perceived -- both in the government and on the Iraqi street -- within the context of these various meddlesome external influences?

Turkey is a very close friend of Iraq. We are proud that we have achieved this level in the relationship. Mr. [Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-]Maliki and [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan have that [shared] vision, and we at the different levels of the Iraqi government, most of us are sure that Turkey is our real partner, our strategic partner. And I think that our counterparts in Turkey feel the same. Iraq is a very important country for Turkey -- this understanding, this vision has spurred the relations to the level that they’re at. It’s a model partnership between two neighboring countries; we want to promote this model with Iran, we want to promote it with Saudi Arabia.

We feel in Iraq that economic relations between Iraq and its neighbors are the only formula to relieve all of the historical and ideological problems present. The region has inherited huge difficulties: Sunni-Shia issues, Kurd-Arab issues, Kurd-Turk issues and ethnic, religious and sectarian difficulties. The issues are historical and geographical; geographically, we have border problems. In order to overcome this problem and to make for zero problems, as our friend Mr. [Turkish Foreign Minister] Ahmet Davutoğlu said, between neighbors in the region -- only economic relations can achieve this.

How would you then evaluate the influence of commerce between Turkey and Iraq in this respect? How have the economics allayed other problems?

When countries become partners and have mutual interests, other difficulties and problems either disappear or are lessened to an extent that they are no longer points capable of igniting troubles between the two countries. This is applicable to Turkey. Though we have major problems over the [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] PKK on the border of the two countries -- the PKK is heavily active and we recognize them as a terrorist organization that threatens not only Turkey, but the border, Iraq and bilateral relations as well --- this problem does not threaten the relations. We have been able to overcome this problem because we have a bigger objective -- the relationship with Turkey is very important, so that whatever the PKK did, it remained unable to even scratch the relations with Turkey; and we would like for Turkey to take this into consideration, that [Turkish-Iraqi] interests are much more important than any other effort that other regional countries are playing now.

Before we had worked out formal relations between us and Turkey, the volume of trade was at $3 billion. I’m proud to say that Davutoğlu and myself were the two main persons working out to bring everything closer for the two countries; we’ve reached about $7 billion in trade volume, and we expect that in 2010 this will jump even higher. I think that we have many strategic projects to conduct with Turkey, one of which is Drylink -- a huge project linking Europe to the Gulf via Iraq. Turkey is a real partner for Iraq. It’s right next door, it has good technology, it has good products. And as the people of Iraq we don’t have any sensitivities against Turkey, as Turkey was historically a neutral force in Iraq. There’s nothing anti-Turkish to contend with here. … Our relationship could be a model for that of other countries.

We are not happy with the other regional countries for their role in Iraq or the role which they would like to have in Iraq. Iraq is not presented as a share of roles for others, we cannot agree or accept for Turkey or Iran or Saudi Arabia to have a role; we need to cut back on the number of roles allowed. Again, I think Turkey needs to balance the future of relations with Iraq compared with other countries, and we would like that Turkey not be part of any formulas that the other countries have which are not consistent with or appropriate to the situation in Iraq today.

So what is it that Iraq wants and does not want, needs and does not need, from other world nations?

I think Iraq has passed the critical stage in which we’d needed donations from other countries. … Despite billions spent since the invasion on capacity building, unfortunately, nothing has been built. … All that money didn’t contribute to any developments in the nation, and I think that the only way we can develop Iraq is to do it ourselves and through our own resources. I think that we are capable of financing what we want. The European community especially, they are hesitating to deal with Iraq. … We need European countries to deal with us, need them to realize that they need to work through Turkey and Iraq, that we are the passageway through Turkey for them to the Gulf. Turkey is our corridor to Europe. Europe needs us because of our huge reserves of gas and energy; Europe has to recognize this. I think the relationship with the US has reached a good level; we’re strategic partners with them.