When former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was Turkey’s foreign minister, he preached a policy of having “ zero problems towards neighbors,” relying on political dialogue and on Ankara playing a role as a mediator-as it did when it mediated peace talks between Syria and Israel as early as 2007. It relied on interdependence and multilateralism to achieve this aim.Īt the time, the AKP’s agenda wasn’t yet the revisionist example seen in recent years. Back then, Ankara adopted a more proactive role and aimed to use its strategic location at the intersection of all these regions as well as its cultural and historical ties with its neighbors to become an influential global actor. The AKP also intended to reach the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, where Ankara’s contacts have been rather limited. The AKP aimed to pivot toward the Middle East, which Ankara had previously neglected. In the 2000s, the AKP focused its foreign policy on fostering interdependence and promoting inter-regional relationships. Over the past two decades, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) dramatically transformed Turkish foreign policy.
It looks like Ankara is trying to arrange a modus vivendi with these countries to end Turkey’s isolation in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean.īut it’ll take more than friendship-building and conciliations to bridge the gap between Turkey and other Middle East states. It has reached out to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to end hostility. For several months now, Ankara has taken steps to normalize regional relationships that had been fraught with problems. It’s a remarkable moment, since these visits marked the first high-level political consultations between the two powers since the 2013 military coup in Egypt, an event that led to a rapid deterioration in Cairo’s relationship with Ankara.īut the recalibration isn’t just with Egypt. The latest talks follow a first-round visit to Cairo in May, where Turkey and Egypt hashed out bilateral concerns. Last month, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal hosted his Egyptian counterpart in Ankara for rapprochement talks focusing on regional issues. But are Ankara’s steps toward recalibration big enough to really change the regional landscape? Turkey has been working away at recalibrating its foreign policy by tracking down new allies and issuing conciliatory statements-and it’s a crucial part of the country’s bid to become a regional leader, energy hub, and economic powerhouse.
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