Tweet
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Jan 1 2014
Middle East was hot potato for Turkish foreign policy in 2013
ANKARA
Sevil ErkuÅ?
2013 has been a tough period for Turkish foreign policy amid mounting
instability in the Middle East, which added new tensions with
countries such as Egypt, following Syria and Iraq.
As the Egyptian military ousted the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed
Morsi, Turkey became one of the fiercest critics of the coup.
Turkey declared Egypt's ambassador in Ankara a `persona non grata' in
a reciprocal step after Cairo expelled its envoy over remarks made by
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, which Cairo deemed as
`provocative.'
Without any doubt, Syria, a potential fireball, was among the top
issues of 2013, with declining hopes that the al-Assad regime will
collapse in the near future, putting the extremist groups fighting in
Syria at the core of concern for the international community.
The allegations that those groups use Turkish territory for safe
houses and crossing into Syria became a common question in Turkish
foreign policy, which Turkish leaders often had to reaffirm they do
not support radical groups.
Strained ties between Turkey and Syria continued with reciprocal
military maneuvers. A Turkish F-16 jet shot down a Syrian MI-17 attack
helicopter in September, saying it made a 2 km incursion into its
airspace, ignoring warnings. Turkish war jets scramble to intercept
Syrian military planes approaching Turkish airspace almost every
second day.
The number of Syrian refugees sheltered in Turkish territory, exceeded
500,000; as nearly 300,000 of them are living in camps, yet the rest
have to survive on their own.
Two Turkish pilots Murat Akpınar and Murat AÄ?ca were kidnapped by
gunmen on Aug. 9 near the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport. A
group called Zuwwar Imam Ali al-Reda claimed responsibility for the
abduction, demanding Turkey put pressure on the Syrian opposition to
release nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims who were kidnapped by rebels in
the conflict-hit country in May of last year.
The pilots were released after negotiations for a package including
the release of hundreds of political prisoners in Syria.
Following two years of deteriorating relations between Turkey and the
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, Ankara and Baghdad
stepped up for rapprochement, while foreign ministers from the two
countries paid reciprocal visits.
Al-Maliki was expected to pay a visit to Turkey in December or
January; however, an energy deal between Ankara and Iraqi Kurds irked
Baghdad. The Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) Nechirvan Barzani paid a visit to Ankara in December, and
parties agreed on some `commercial agreements' on export of oil from
northern Iraq to Turkey. Test flows in Iraqi Kurdistan's crude oil
pipeline to Turkey have started recently, while discussions are going
on between Iraqi Kurds, Turkey and the al-Maliki government on the
conditions of energy cooperation.
Israel apology on Mavi Marmara
Israel issued a formal apology to Turkey and agreed to pay
compensation over the Mavi Marmara killings from 2010 on March 22
after a phone conversation between the two countries' premiers,
Benjamin Netanyahu and ErdoÄ?an, which was brokered by U.S. President
Barack Obama.
Following the apology, the two countries' delegations held three
rounds of talks on compensation for the Mavi Marmara victims, yet the
negotiations have not finalized.
After two years of standstill in the accession negotiations with the
EU due to a blockage of negotiation chapters, France, with the new
government under President François Hollande, lifted its blockage on
Chapter 22.
On this basis, the EU General Affairs Council, during its meeting on
June 25, 2013, decided to open this chapter. Negotiations on Chapter
22 -Regional Policies- launched in November during the Lithuanian
Presidency.
The 4th Judiciary Reform Package was adopted by the Turkish Grand
National Assembly on April 12, 2013. In addition, on the basis of the
laws adopted in June 2012, Ombudsman started to receive petitions in
March 2013.
Turkey and the EU launched visa liberalization talks in exchange of
the readmission agreement in December.
In a recent visit to Yerevan for a meeting regarding the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation, Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu stepped up to
proceed normalizations between Turkey and Armenia. The `deportation'
of Armenians in 1915 was inhumane, and Turkey has never supported the
move, DavutoÄ?lu said in a press conference in Yerevan.
January/01/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/middle-east-was-hot-potato-for-turkish-foreign-policy-in-2013.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60390&NewsCatID=338
From: Baghdasarian
Jan 1 2014
Middle East was hot potato for Turkish foreign policy in 2013
ANKARA
Sevil ErkuÅ?
2013 has been a tough period for Turkish foreign policy amid mounting
instability in the Middle East, which added new tensions with
countries such as Egypt, following Syria and Iraq.
As the Egyptian military ousted the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed
Morsi, Turkey became one of the fiercest critics of the coup.
Turkey declared Egypt's ambassador in Ankara a `persona non grata' in
a reciprocal step after Cairo expelled its envoy over remarks made by
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, which Cairo deemed as
`provocative.'
Without any doubt, Syria, a potential fireball, was among the top
issues of 2013, with declining hopes that the al-Assad regime will
collapse in the near future, putting the extremist groups fighting in
Syria at the core of concern for the international community.
The allegations that those groups use Turkish territory for safe
houses and crossing into Syria became a common question in Turkish
foreign policy, which Turkish leaders often had to reaffirm they do
not support radical groups.
Strained ties between Turkey and Syria continued with reciprocal
military maneuvers. A Turkish F-16 jet shot down a Syrian MI-17 attack
helicopter in September, saying it made a 2 km incursion into its
airspace, ignoring warnings. Turkish war jets scramble to intercept
Syrian military planes approaching Turkish airspace almost every
second day.
The number of Syrian refugees sheltered in Turkish territory, exceeded
500,000; as nearly 300,000 of them are living in camps, yet the rest
have to survive on their own.
Two Turkish pilots Murat Akpınar and Murat AÄ?ca were kidnapped by
gunmen on Aug. 9 near the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport. A
group called Zuwwar Imam Ali al-Reda claimed responsibility for the
abduction, demanding Turkey put pressure on the Syrian opposition to
release nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims who were kidnapped by rebels in
the conflict-hit country in May of last year.
The pilots were released after negotiations for a package including
the release of hundreds of political prisoners in Syria.
Following two years of deteriorating relations between Turkey and the
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, Ankara and Baghdad
stepped up for rapprochement, while foreign ministers from the two
countries paid reciprocal visits.
Al-Maliki was expected to pay a visit to Turkey in December or
January; however, an energy deal between Ankara and Iraqi Kurds irked
Baghdad. The Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) Nechirvan Barzani paid a visit to Ankara in December, and
parties agreed on some `commercial agreements' on export of oil from
northern Iraq to Turkey. Test flows in Iraqi Kurdistan's crude oil
pipeline to Turkey have started recently, while discussions are going
on between Iraqi Kurds, Turkey and the al-Maliki government on the
conditions of energy cooperation.
Israel apology on Mavi Marmara
Israel issued a formal apology to Turkey and agreed to pay
compensation over the Mavi Marmara killings from 2010 on March 22
after a phone conversation between the two countries' premiers,
Benjamin Netanyahu and ErdoÄ?an, which was brokered by U.S. President
Barack Obama.
Following the apology, the two countries' delegations held three
rounds of talks on compensation for the Mavi Marmara victims, yet the
negotiations have not finalized.
After two years of standstill in the accession negotiations with the
EU due to a blockage of negotiation chapters, France, with the new
government under President François Hollande, lifted its blockage on
Chapter 22.
On this basis, the EU General Affairs Council, during its meeting on
June 25, 2013, decided to open this chapter. Negotiations on Chapter
22 -Regional Policies- launched in November during the Lithuanian
Presidency.
The 4th Judiciary Reform Package was adopted by the Turkish Grand
National Assembly on April 12, 2013. In addition, on the basis of the
laws adopted in June 2012, Ombudsman started to receive petitions in
March 2013.
Turkey and the EU launched visa liberalization talks in exchange of
the readmission agreement in December.
In a recent visit to Yerevan for a meeting regarding the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation, Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu stepped up to
proceed normalizations between Turkey and Armenia. The `deportation'
of Armenians in 1915 was inhumane, and Turkey has never supported the
move, DavutoÄ?lu said in a press conference in Yerevan.
January/01/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/middle-east-was-hot-potato-for-turkish-foreign-policy-in-2013.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60390&NewsCatID=338
From: Baghdasarian