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TURKEY'S 'ZERO PROBLEMS WITH NEIGHBORS' POLICY CRACKING
PanARMENIAN.Net
October 25, 2011 - 14:57 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - When fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers'
Party killed 24 Turkish soldiers in the eastern province of Hakkari,
the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, immediately ordered
10,000 soldiers to cross into Iraq and find the militants, an article
in the New York Times says.
Besides provoking one of the largest ground operations against the
Kurdish fighters in recent years, the resurgence of the group, known
as the PKK, shows the difficulties Ankara now faces in adjusting
a foreign policy that was based on its ambitious "zero problems"
strategy in the region, it says.
"The zero problem policy was over-optimistic, almost naïve in the
belief that difficult problems could be solved easily," the author
quotes Sinan Ullgen, chairman of the Center for Economics and Foreign
Policy Studies, an independent research group in Istanbul.
The zero problems policy was designed by Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu in order to build strong economic, political and social
ties with Turkey's immediate neighbors. In practice, that policy
meant shifting away from Turkey's traditional reliance on the United
States and its close military ties with Israel to a regionally based
strategy aimed at Turkey becoming the main player in the neighborhood,
the article reads.
As for Turkey's attempts at normalizing relations with its neighbor
Armenia, with whom diplomatic ties were severed in 1992, the zero
problems policy has not lived up to expectations, either, the article
reminds.
The thaw ended soon. Azerbaijan, which traditionally has had very
close ties with Turkey, was from the outset suspicious about any
breakthrough. The Azeri authorities feared they would lose leverage
over Armenia if restoring diplomatic relations between Armenia and
Turkey was not linked to the resolution of the conflict in Nagorno
Karabakh. As a result of Azerbaijan's conditions, the talks have
stalled. Instead of trying to maintain the momentum even at the risk
of poorer ties with Azerbaijan, Mr. Erdogan backed away, it says.
PanARMENIAN.Net
October 25, 2011 - 14:57 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - When fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers'
Party killed 24 Turkish soldiers in the eastern province of Hakkari,
the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, immediately ordered
10,000 soldiers to cross into Iraq and find the militants, an article
in the New York Times says.
Besides provoking one of the largest ground operations against the
Kurdish fighters in recent years, the resurgence of the group, known
as the PKK, shows the difficulties Ankara now faces in adjusting
a foreign policy that was based on its ambitious "zero problems"
strategy in the region, it says.
"The zero problem policy was over-optimistic, almost naïve in the
belief that difficult problems could be solved easily," the author
quotes Sinan Ullgen, chairman of the Center for Economics and Foreign
Policy Studies, an independent research group in Istanbul.
The zero problems policy was designed by Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu in order to build strong economic, political and social
ties with Turkey's immediate neighbors. In practice, that policy
meant shifting away from Turkey's traditional reliance on the United
States and its close military ties with Israel to a regionally based
strategy aimed at Turkey becoming the main player in the neighborhood,
the article reads.
As for Turkey's attempts at normalizing relations with its neighbor
Armenia, with whom diplomatic ties were severed in 1992, the zero
problems policy has not lived up to expectations, either, the article
reminds.
The thaw ended soon. Azerbaijan, which traditionally has had very
close ties with Turkey, was from the outset suspicious about any
breakthrough. The Azeri authorities feared they would lose leverage
over Armenia if restoring diplomatic relations between Armenia and
Turkey was not linked to the resolution of the conflict in Nagorno
Karabakh. As a result of Azerbaijan's conditions, the talks have
stalled. Instead of trying to maintain the momentum even at the risk
of poorer ties with Azerbaijan, Mr. Erdogan backed away, it says.