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Turkey pulls Iran, Syria out of international isolation
“Brazil has been participating for only two to three months, but Turkey has been engaging with Iran for years. I therefore believe that this is 100 percent Turkey’s success,” Hüsnü Mahalli, a Syrian journalist and columnist with the Akşam daily, said in an interview with Today’s Zaman.
Claiming that Western countries pushed Brazil into the talks to increase their legitimacy as it is a Christian country with Western traditions, Mahalli said the Western nations thought Brazil would support their interests better than Turkey.
Speaking about the consequences of the fuel swap deal with Iran and other moves in the region, Mahalli said the moment is “historic.”
Mahalli noted that Turkey’s success over the Iran issue is important in terms of reshaping the region and that this deal demonstrates Iran’s trust in Turkey. Mahalli said these developments will eventually lead to the gradual solution of other problems in the region, including the Israeli-Syrian dispute and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and will institute stability in Iraq.
Speaking of allegations about Iran’s distrust for Turkey, the columnist said even if that had been the case, it has largely disappeared now. “Can you imagine, Iran is entrusting Turkey with its biggest card. History will record this,” Mahalli said.
Turkey’s attempts to forge close partnerships with its immediate neighbors in the Middle East have also enhanced their international partnership. For over five years the US refused to name an ambassador to Damascus, and Syria was accused of interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs, lending support to Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbullah, having covert links with terrorist groups, developing nuclear weapons and bolstering Iran’s nuclear program. However, the situation has changed dramatically. Last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos visited Syria. The Syrian president is also a frequent visitor to Turkey. The US has recently appointed a new ambassador to Syria, and Syrian-Lebanese relations are also rapidly improving. “The steady reintegration of Syria into the international community has been an amazing development,” Frida Ghitis, a world affairs columnist with the Miami Herald, told Today’s Zaman. Ghitis said before Obama came to power, Syria faced a clear choice. If it wanted to end its isolation, she claimed, it would have to change its behavior. “That would have meant, among other things, increasing its distance from Iran and reducing its support for Hezbullah and Hamas.” Noting that now Syria does not seem to be facing any difficult decisions, Ghitis said Washington has opened the door to Damascus’ re-entry into the international community.
Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Serdar Erdurmaz, an expert from the Turkish Center for International Relations and Strategic Analysis (TÜRKSAM), said following the collapse of communism, Syria’s expectations of Russia have failed and thus Syria tried to lean towards Turkey to solve its long-standing problems.
Syria, in return, Erdurmaz said, supported Turkey’s contribution to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and Turkey’s mediation of the Israeli-Syrian peace process. Noting that Syria is a key country in the Middle Eastern peace process -- as Iran maintains its links with Hamas and Hezbullah through Syria -- Erdurmaz said Iran is trying to maintain its good relations with Syria to be effective in the region.
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