"Turkey’s Kosovo Policy: Inexistent, Hesitant or Prudent?
Can Karpat, AIA Turkish and Balkan Section
Turkish Version
There are strong historical and psychological ties between the Turks and the Albanians. As to the antagonism between the Turks and the Serbs, it is well known from history. However it seems that Ankara prefers separating emotions from foreign policy nowadays. Turkey, caught between the Ottoman heritage and the European perspective, follows a highly prudent policy about the final status of Kosovo.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul meets Ibrahim Rugova in Pristina, October 2005 (photo: Balkan Times)
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul meets Ibrahim Rugova in Pristina, October 2005
“Turkey supports the full implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244. Turkey has been contributing to security and stability of Kosovo by providing troops, civilian police and specialists to KFOR (Kosovo Force), UNMIK (UN Mission in Kosovo) and the OSCE (Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe) Mission in Kosovo. Turkey, with its centuries-long historical and cultural ties with the region, closely follows the developments relating to Kosovo. In this respect, Turkey attaches great importance to the preservation of the acquired rights of the Turkish national minority as well as their fair and equitable representation in the political and administrative structures of Kosovo”.
This brief account of Turkey’s political relations with Kosovo published by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs web site is not much telling about Turkey’s real attitude about the final status of Kosovo. This highly diplomatic language, though, tells much about Turkey’s own anxieties in this matter. "
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Kosovo Policy: Inexistent, Hesitant or Prudent?
