"TURKEY’S CHANGING FOREIGN POLICY AND ITS INTERNATIONAL RAMIFICATIONS
By Efraim Inbar
February 2011
Efraim Inbar is professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University and director of the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies. This essay is excerpted from his Winter 2011 Orbis article. The author acknowledges the research help of Elizabeth Stull.
Turkey’s geographical location and size bestows on the state strategic importance. Indeed, Turkey carries great regional and international weight. Diverging from the West has serious consequences for the balance of power in the Greater Middle East and for global politics. Currently, the Middle East is divided between ascending Islamic Iran and its radical allies, and pro-Western moderate forces—Israel and most Arab states. Until recently, Turkey appeared to belong to the pro-Western camp, but it crossed the Rubicon when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Iran in October 2009. Turkey sided with Iran on the nuclear issue when its Foreign Minister, Davutoglu, in a meeting with Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili, stressed his country's support for Tehran’s “peaceful nuclear program.” During the meeting held in Tehran, Ahmet Davutoglu also announced Turkey’s capital Ankara’s firm stance on the consolidation of ties with Tehran. [1] The relationship with Iran remains the litmus test for Turkey’s Islamist leanings. During a state visit to Tehran earlier this month, the Turkish president, Abdullah Gull, declared Turkey’s desire for further improvement of bilateral relations, unperturbed by the violent repression of opposition demonstrators by the Iranian regime. "
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