What are Turkey’s foreign policy priorities?

Those interested in foreign policy, international relations, and defense and security issues know that the principle of the indivisibility of security is fundamental. If one side builds its own security upon the insecurity of the other, it cannot be considered secure itself. The security of a state in a region is closely and directly related to the security of the other state or states in that region. These mutually influence one another. If there is insecurity, instability, or unrest in one country, the entire region is affected by it. This is because there is mutual interaction between states. Even if the powers are not equal, this situation does not change. 

Another rule regarding foreign policy is this: Expansionist rhetoric, sectarian rhetoric, and ethnicist rhetoric are doomed to fail sooner or later. Therefore, secularism is a very important principle not only in domestic politics but also in foreign policy. In this way, interference in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, both on an ethnic and sectarian level, is prevented. Turkey’s support for Barzani in northern Iraq for many years, its interference in Baghdad’s internal affairs, and its pursuit of a sectarian-based policy in Syria, supporting whoever was against Assad, have ultimately not been to Turkey’s benefit. Significant progress has been made toward the ethnic and sectarian division of Iraq and Syria. The state that has benefited most from this has been Israel. Turkey, on the other hand, is among the losers in terms of refugees, the economy, security, and diplomacy. Moreover, Syria is Turkey’s gateway to the Middle East, and the civil war in this country, in addition to causing Turkey to lose the Syrian market, has also deprived it of a very important trade route. 

Another foreign policy issue that Turkey must observe and take into account is the competition between Eurasian and Atlantic powers. Since the day the Cold War ended (the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and the Warsaw Pact and the USSR dissolved in 1991), it has been known that one of the primary goals of the US and the European Union is to prevent Russia from being effective in the open seas and oceans and from exporting energy. The US has turned the Ukraine war into an opportunity to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia’s energy resources. The transportation of energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries to Europe should also be viewed from this perspective. Thus, the US aims to strike a blow to Russia economically as well. The US, the European Union, and Israel are also against Turkey being effective at sea. This is because Turkey is a state with high strategic importance as a regional actor in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. It is both affected by developments and influences these developments. Therefore, the US and Europe want to secure Turkey’s support, or at least ensure that Turkey does not object, in their moves regarding these regions. 

THE RISE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN AND SHARP ENERGY COMPETITION 

The competition in the Eastern Mediterranean is also very sharp. The region’s rich energy resources and the energy reserves around the island of Cyprus whet the appetites of both US imperialism and European imperialism. Israel, which has covered significant ground from Iraq to Syria and from Palestine to Lebanon in breaking Iran’s influence in the Middle East, and which has inflicted heavy losses on the Axis of Resistance and the Shiite crescent, is trying to expand in the region. In this respect, Israel’s hand is also strong. Behind it are the US, Germany, and the UK. The Jewish lobby is effective and organized worldwide. In the region, Israel is fielding Kurds in Iraq and Syria, and Druze in Syria. Israel’s calculation is a Syria divided into four among Kurds, Druze, Sunni Arabs, and Nusayris.

The fact that the Kurds, who make up roughly 10 percent of the population in Syria, hold control over approximately 30 percent of the country (moreover, in regions rich in water and energy resources) with the support of the US, the European Union, and Israel behind them, can only be explained by the powers behind them, beyond their own strength. Turkey is also aware of this situation. This is one of the reasons, and the most primary one, for the opening process that has come to the agenda for the second time. 

After northern Iraq, the infrastructure for a Kurdish state is being established step by step in northern Syria as well. According to the US and Israel, after Iraq and Syria, it will be Iran’s turn. After Iran, it is also clear which country will be the target of imperialism. Furthermore, the calculations of imperialism regarding Turkey have been known since the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916), the Armistice of Mudros (1918), and the Treaty of Sèvres (1920). This calculation is not new. 

It should also be remembered that Russia and China have not provided even a tenth of the support the US has given to Israel to Syria and Iran. This is one of the factors that has enabled Israel to further increase its aggression and barbarism and has made Israel even more reckless. 

Therefore, whether in domestic or foreign policy, it is essential to first keep the internal front strong, to trust in one’s own power above all else, and to consolidate national power elements and state capacity (the sum of political, economic, military, and soft powers).