Turkey: Foreign Minister Davutoglu on Afghanistan and Ankara's Foreign Policy

EA correspondent Fulya Inci writes:

As the London Conference convened on Pakistan and Afghanistan on Thursday, Turkish officials Pakiistani and Afghan counterparts. That was the fourth tripartite meeting for a regional initiative for Afghanistan since Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu took office.

In an interview with the Turkish channel NTV, Davutoglu set out Turkey’s approach toward Afghanistan’s future. He defined explained Afghanistan’s importance for Turkey: stability and political balance in Asia, Turkey’s mission in the country as part of a NATO force, and the historical friendship between Ankara and Kabul. Turkey has pursued a "safety zone" in Afghanistan, providing $200 million in economic aid.

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Asked about an opportunity to the Taliban to play a role in Afghanistan’s future, Davutoglu supported a political arrangement that covers all groups and minorities, even if they are armed militants. He asserteded that such a strategy will engage the Afghan people, who have a say in the defence, stability, and security of their country.


Beyond Afghanistan, Davutoglu offered a series of statements on Turkey's current foreign policy. He criticized the recent intervention of the Armenian Constitutional Court in the October 2009 protocol which sought to normalize the relationship between Armenia and Turkey. He referred to the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, saying that Turkey is still hopeful for the process of resolution.

Davutoglu rejected the idea that there has been a "shift in the axis" of Turkish foreign policy, claiming that Ankara's main principle was “being constructive in all peaceful efforts, irrespective of whether they are in the West or East”.

Greece: The Farmers' Strike

EA's Fulya Inci reports:

A week-long blockade by Greek farmers, protesting the Government's austerity measures in agriculture and demanding greater support for agricultural products, ended early Sunday.

The farmers had blocked the border with Bulgaria with tractors and reapers, refusing passage of vehicles except those with only passengers. “Cars and trucks carrying goods to destinations ranging from Poland to Italy were stranded on both sides of the border.”

During the protests, diplomatic tension rose with Bulgarian officials accused Greek authorities of not doing enough to stop the blockade. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's visit to the border was criticised by Greek media of acting “undiplomatic”.

Borisov has been ordered the establishment of a special department to settle the claims of Bulgarian companies. Economy Minister Traicho Traikov told Parliament that Bulgaria had lost “three million euros per day", and the Agriculture Ministry and Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism received complaints from firms reporting a total loss of approximately 77.5 million leva ($55.6 million).  The companies’ demands for compensation will be presented on European Commission for Greece’s attention.

Gaza: Israel Rejects Another High-Level Visit

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon has denied Belgian International Development Minister Charles Michel's request to visit the Gaza Strip. Ayalon told the Belgian minister that Israel could not authorize the request, as official visits to the Strip are interpreted as giving legitimacy to Hamas.

In response to Ayalon's rejection, Michel said, "It's not normal that access to Gaza is denied to a minister whose country is funding projects there."

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Palestine: Conflicting Statements from Hamas on Israel’s Right to Exist

Palestine: Conflicting Statements from Hamas on Israel's Right to Exist

Following a meeting in Hebron with British millionaire David Martin Abrahams on Wednesday, Aziz Dwaik, a Hamas senior representative and the elected speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the West Bank, said that Hamas has accepted Israel’s right to exist and would be prepared to alter its charter.

There have been two developments since then. Firstly, there have been contradictory signals from Hamas, with some officials saying the group accepts the two-state solution but only as a temporary measure and others declaring that they accept Israel's right to exist and want dialogue.

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Mahmoud Ramahi, another top Hamas operative in the West Bank, said that his movement was indeed willing to accept an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines, but only on a temporary basis and without recognizing Israel's right to exist.



Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas representative in the Gaza Strip, confirmed that his movement was considering the possibility of changing its charter. In an interview with the Saudi daily Okaz, Hamad said that the Hamas charter, like any other document, may be subject for changes and discussions. However, Hamad also stressed that "accepting" Israel did not mean that Hamas would "recognize" the Jewish state.

In contrast, Salah Bardaweel, a Hamas legislator and spokesman from the Gaza Strip, said that his movement was not seeking the destruction of Israel. Bardaweel spoke to a Hamas-affiliated Web site:

There is a huge difference between our demand to restore the Palestinian people's rights and the annihilation of Israel. We haven't said that [we want] to destroy Israel, but we are striving to restore our people's rights and refugees' right to return to their dwellings and land from which they were deported.

Meanwhile, the rival Palestinian organisation Fatah tried to exploit Hamas' apparent concession to Israel.. "The true face of Hamas has finally been exposed by Dwaik's remarks to the British millionaire," said Ahmad Assaf, a spokesman for Fatah in the West Bank. Asaf continued:

Hamas is seeking recognition of the international community at the expense of the Palestinians' interests and national rights. In one voice directed toward our people and Arabs and Muslims, Hamas is saying that it's a resistance movement. In another voice directed toward the international community, Hamas is talking about its readiness to recognize Israel and accept a long-term hudna [temporary truce].

At the same time, a senior Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah condemned initiatives by some EU citizens and officials to talk to Hamas, accusing them of "ignoring the fact that Hamas had staged a coup in the Gaza Strip". He said:

Meetings between Hamas and Westerners is undermining efforts to achieve reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. Those who are trying to legitimize Hamas are harming the Palestinian Authority and any chance of achieving peace with Israel.

The Palestinian Authority has also sent an aggressive signal, as security agents on Sunday arrested six men who work as aides to Dwaik. The Hamas representative condemned the arrest of his aides as "an act of piracy" and "an assault on his parliamentary immunity". He also warned that the arrests could harm efforts by some Arab countries to achieve "national reconciliation" between Hamas and Fatah.

Turkey Inside Line: The Evolving Relationship with Russia

EA's Fulya Inci writes:

Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan made a two-day trip to Moscow, with energy, trade and the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute high on the agenda. Erdogan and senior members of his government, in talks with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitri Medvedev, launched the process for an agreement on visa-free travel for the citizens of both countries and took important steps on the use of the Turkish lira, and the Russian ruble in bilateral trade. Most significantly, the two sides signed a declaration of cooperation to construct Turkey’s first nuclear power plant.

The energy issue is the rucial factor in the economic and trading relations of Turkey and Russia. Turkey is highly dependent on Russian gas but now also wants to become a major energy corridor, transporting that gas to the Middle East. This South Stream rivals the U.S. and EU-backed Nabucco pipeline plan, even though Ankara also backs Nabucco  and says the two projects should complement each other.



A Turkish government commission is examining the environmental concerns and high-cost route of South Stream, but it has also allowed Moscow to carry out preliminary work off the Black Sea coast. It also has a commitment from Russia to join a prospective Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline via Turkey, as Ankara seeks to develop its geostrategic position and create new cooperation opportunities in the region.

Bilateral trade is also important between the two countries. It reached $33 billion in 2008. There has been an unexpected decrease in 2009 due to the global economic crisis, but both countries’ leaders expressed the desire to triple the figure by 2015.

In contrast to the positive steps in energy and trade, the trip did not seem to reward Turkey’s Nagorno-Karabakh policy. Putin told Erdoğan that “Turkey should not link the Nagorno-Karabakh problem between Armenia and Azerbaijan to the normalization of its bilateral relations with Armenia.”

In October, Turkey and Armenia signed agreements to normalize diplomatic relations, after decades of tension over the mass killing of Turkey's Armenian population in the early 20th century. The two sides also discussed reopening borders that Turkey had closed in 1993 because of Armenia's occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, a largely Armenian- populated part of Azerbaijan.

As a close ally of Azerbaijan, Turkey “first wants to see progress toward the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict before opening its border with Armenia”. Putin’s remarks show that Russia does not want Turkey to slow down the normalization process because of Nagorno-Karabakh’s future.

President Medvedev is expected to come to Turkey on May, and the two sides are hopeful for developing cooperation. It is an important negotiation, given that shifting power in regions such as the Middle East is bringing new opportunities and risks for both countries.