TURKEY PURSUES ZERO PROBLEM POLICY WITH NEIGHBORS

People’s Daily Online
854/6866150.html
Jan 12 2010
China

Turkey achieved a remarkable progress in pursuing the zero problem
policy with neighbors such as Iran and Syria in 2009 as part of
endeavors to revive its regional influence.

The policy by the Turkish government was aimed at maximum cooperation
with its neighbors and minimum problems in the region.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu waged a dynamic diplomatic
initiative by visiting neighboring Syria three times, Iraq twice and
Greece, Georgia and Iran once respectively in 2009.

Throughout 2009, Ankara struck new agreements with regional countries
and underlined the need of "no problem" in the region. It deepened
its relations with Syria, Iraq and other regional countries aside
from Israel.

The most significant development in international relations for
Turkey was the signing of two protocols in the Swiss city of Zurich
in October with Armenia, a country that has no diplomatic or economic
ties with Turkey since its independence in 1991.

Davutoglu and his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian signed the
two historic protocols to normalize ties and develop relations, which
laid a cornerstone for the two neighbors to quench their chronic row.

While the Armenia issue is on the list of Turkey’s biggest concern,
Iraq also tops the agenda of the Turkish government.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the war-torn Iraq
in October accompanied by nine ministers and signed 48 agreements
involving energy, economy, transport, health, education and security.

Also, Turkish President Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish president
to visit Baghdad in 33 years, in a sign of close relations with Iraq.

Suffering a chronic conflict with terrorist organization Kurdish
Workers’ Party (PKK) from the beginning of 1990s and giving more than
30,000 casualties, Turkey wants Iraq to stop harboring terrorists
in its north region and to block any kind of assault towards its
territories.

Turkey initiated a new era with Syria last year. Turkey lifted the visa
obligation to visit Syria and the two countries signed 51agreements
last year. Davutoglu has said that Turkey and Syria now have a new
shared slogan — "Common Destiny, Common History, Common Future."

Turkey and Iran also signed a number of cooperation agreements,
exchanged high level visits and improve their relations day by day.

Ankara delivered its support to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
at a critical time, particularly after the hotly contested June 2009
presidential elections.

Gul and Erdogan were among the first foreign leaders to congratulate
Ahmadinejad on his victory, ignoring mass demonstrations and concern
of Western leaders over the legitimacy of the election results.

Erdogan called the move a "necessity of bilateral relations."

In October, Erdogan exposed divisions in NATO by accusing the West
of treating Iran unfairly over its nuclear program and questioning
the Western stance toward Israel, which allegedly owns nuclear weapons.

"The style with which Iran is approached is not fair because those
who accuse Iran of pursuing acquisition of nuclear weapons have very
strong nuclear infrastructures and do not deny the fact," the prime
minister said.

Turkey has voiced its support for Iran in its right to develop peaceful
nuclear programs.

With its close ties with Tehran, Turkey is keen to mediate between
the United States and Iran. During his meeting with U.S. President
Barack Obama in Washington in December, the Turkish prime minister
indicated that Turkey wants to be a broker between the U.S. and Iran,
an offer later rejected by Tehran.

But the relations between Turkey and its strategic partner Israel
deteriorated after Erdogan denounced Israel at the Davos World Economic
Forum for its military operation in the Gaza Strip.

With Turkey’s various good neighborhood initiatives oriented towards
the Middle East, serious discussions arose over whether Turkey has
turned its axis. However, Turkey denied the allegation, saying that
Turkey should improve its relations with both West and East countries.

Davutoglu said that, "We don’t have the luxury to turn against Europe
or U.S. or Middle East or Middle Asia. The stronger a country that
has a geography like Turkey bows its arrow, the farthest arrow goes
towards Europe. Where is the axis? Axis is in Ankara."

As a country that has been suffering problems with its neighbors,
Turkey changed its foreign diplomacy courageously in 2009, local
analysts said.

Although they welcome the ruling AK Party’s approach of improving
foreign relations since it came to power in 2002, they outlined the
potential obstacles standing in Turkey’s way to be a regional power.

In 2010, Turkey will face more hurdles from the Armenian government
over the Nagorno Karabakh issue, which has the power to be the first
real reflection of the zero-problem policy, according to the analysts.

On the other hand, elections in Iraq scheduled for March is a critical
timeframe for peace considering the PKK issue.

The regions surrounding Iran and Turkey are volatile, complicated and
chaotic, and therefore Turkey has a long way to go to institutionalize
its influence in these regions, especially in the Middle East.

Shuttle diplomacy and negotiations are useful, but the situation
is changing. Turkey, which was absent in the Middle Eastin the past
decades due to its former foreign policy directed toward the West,
cannot revive its Ottoman-type influence in a short term, the
observers said.