The Theory of zero problems with Turkey’s neighboring countries, which in fact was a theory of Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, who became today is far from the very narrow decision in Turkey, Mr. Davutoğlu, which was a foreign minister and Leader of the ruling (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) Justice and Development Party and a prime minister of Turkey, his name soon would start to disappear, especially after the decision, and it seems that the disagreement between him and President of the republic Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, its Erdoğan decision or resolution, I don’t know to remove Mr. Davutoğlu from the leadership of the Justice and Development Party which would lead to the resignation or removal as prime minister too, follow the footsteps of Mr. Abdullah Gul and become outside the Turkish political theater to keep Mr. Erdoğan alone, perhaps because he wants new adherents that followed him and obey his command without discussion and everything he wants to do, in fact I don’t know…
Let the days shows what will happened.
Returning to our topic of Turkey’s zero problems policy with its neighboring countries, and where brought Turkey after more than a decade of starting it.
The Theory of zero problems started in 2003, and it started with Syria, When Turkey began to conduct a regional campaign to prevent the US war on Iraq, which included with Syria, Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf Arab countries and Iran.
I think that the campaign was an argument for Turkey or rather an opportunity with its new leadership at the time to promote itself in the region and to begin to build a base according to Turkey’s basis that played and its weight as an important and effective role player in the inflammation in the world.
Since there is no rational person would endorse that something was to prevent war on Iraq at that time, the US war decision was taken years ago and the only thing that was remaining is to select the zero hour and marketing the war cause in the world with some empty justifications that may justify a modest need to War, of course, what happened is known to the world and there is no need to go into it.
The arrival of the Justice and Development Party to rule Turkey or rather the arrival of Mr. Erdoğan’s authority, placed in an important position, it must work to restore the relations of Turkey to a good levels with all countries around the world, not only the neighboring countries, as the stage of the previous Governing Turkey which was full of instability with big army generals intervention in Turkey’s politics, as well as the Economical problems, the Kurdish issue and the so called Armenian genocide, all were a factor in making the task of zero problems with neighboring countries not an easy task to be done, some of Turkey’s problems with its neighboring countries where historical that been a decades-old problems of Turkey such as Kurds, Armenians and Greece with Cyprus case etc… all these issue been inherited from the Ottoman era.
After this Turkish openness on the neighboring countries and the Arab world, magnificently continued and successful, the eye-catching performance of the new Turkish leader pushed the Arab League to offically invite Mr. Erdoğan to attend the Arab summit held in Sudan at 2008 and then the Arab summit in 2010 in Libya.
The theoretical idea for those watching the Middle East finds that it is important and necessary that Turkey should be an important part and ahead in this region, Turkey as a country with a Sunni Muslims majority, linked to long history since the era of the Ottoman empire at the entire region, which makes it an important country to create some balance in the region along side with Iran the other none Arab large Country of Shiite Muslims majority, which, of course, its relationship with the West and Israel are not that good, the existence of a country like Turkey with to me strange combination between Muslim secular regime, with civilian ruling system which in other word Democratic form, and also a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and their relationship with Israel is nature, all that makes Turkey an important county in the region and able to play the role in various areas, but it’s essential for this role to work, it must come with a success of the Turkey’s foreign policy which is made a big jumps in building good and excellent relations with all its neighbor.
But the problem was while the wave of ” Arabian Spring” and the results, revealed the true face of Erdoğan strategy which involves the leadership of Turkey in the majority to lead and rule the Sunni Muslim Arab region by the Muslim Brotherhood group.
This ideology prompted Ankara to mobilize all its potentials in order to get rid of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad that is supported by Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, at the time that Turkey’s relation with Syria was so good to a level of union form and even the personal relationship between Erdoğan and Al-assad was so close, which but all of us in state of shock of how thing turns quickly to hostile relation.
Erdoğan and Davutoğlu take the initiative of Ankara’s bore the primary role in the western world to get rid of the Syrian regime, where embraced the Turkish territories since day one of Syria’s crisis, opening Turkey’s borders widely before thousands of the Extremists who came to Turkey and moved through Syria to fight against the Syrian regime with funds and weapons, from the Gulf countries and the western world.
Davutoğlu, the author of the ” strategic depth” book himself, was the one who took the main role in all these serious policy and it was followed up under his direct supervison.
The paradox is that the policy of «Zero Problems» in which was adopted by Mr. Davutoğlu, were sufficient to «zeroing» Turkey’s neighbors.
It deteriorated Ankara relations with Syria, Iraq, Iran and Lebanon deteriorated Turkish relations with Egypt, then with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which they supported the new Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi and adding to all of that the relations with Russia reached to high levels of serious repercussions after the incident of downing the Russian aircraft, with killing of one of its two pilots by one of the Turkmen militants that opposing the Syrian regime, which Turkish authorities protected him.
Despite some of changes in relationships which recently occurred like the last approach with Saudi Arabia, and that in my point of view is only to continue chasing the goal of overthrown the Syrian regime, without forget to mention the Turkish relationship with Iraqi Kurdistan president Masood Al-brazani in addition to Erdoğan relationship with the State of Qatar and whether it’s former emir Hamad and his son, the current Emir (Prince) Tamim, which he and his father are Erdoğan’s partners in all the crimes that took place in the region during this past five or six years.
But with that problem still exists, without forgetting the Kurdish historical problem alongside the Armenians and Greece, which does not change with time as the problem of the Turkish Disagreement with them are rooted in the distant past, its an ideological disagreement over principles marred by many of incidents and mutual events, even with presence of diplomatic relations between Turkey and these countries with initiatives to solve these issues, but in other hand the peoples in both sides cannot forget the past and its story, sure is no one can erase facts from the History Books.
In conclusion we’re just wondering what’s remain from Turkey’s Zero Problems and if we got the chance to grade the policy of Zero Problems from 0 to 10 after a decade of its genesis, what is the grade will be?
Where and to where Turkey’s policy is going?
Finally, What remained of what did not happen after?
