Mr. Raisi (the former president of the Republic of Iran) quietly carried out a lot of work in a short period of time and it was clear that he was proceeding with a precise plan (road map); Among other things, it strengthened relations with neighbors. As a result, the crisis between Armenia and Azerbaijan almost ended. Iran’s relationship with Azerbaijan and Armenia and as a result Türkiye improved.
Relations with Saudi Arabia and the sheikhdoms also improved, relations that were hostile and caused the West to take advantage of that war to wage war among its neighbors and profit.
All this calmed the region, but Israel remains the problem of the region.
Before sending the ship to Gaza, there was a dispute between Israel and Türkiye. Erdoğan arrested high-ranking pro-Israel military forces. As a result, Israel killed only Turkish citizens among those who were on the ship to Gaza, which was revenge, but Turkey could not give a proper response and retreated. So, the story of Türkiye’s differences with Israel in these two or three decades has been very difficult and sometimes violent.
The story of their differences in the past few decades and especially Israel’s interference in Türkiye’s internal affairs has its place.
But Turkey has never been able to interfere in Israel, and this remains a complex among the leadership and people of this country.
The story of Mr. Gulen’s coup against Erdogan, who later went to America, shows the interference of the West in Türkiye’s internal affairs. The story of the influence of various Western countries, especially Israel and America, is deep in Turkey, so as a result, the conflict between them is also wide. And this inferiority complex and hatred of Türkiye towards them will show itself somewhere.
As a result, Turkey may have realized, like Saudi Arabia, that with the rise of power in the East (China, Russia, Iran and several other countries that have joined them), the era of unipolarity and American coercion (Israel and the West) has come to an end, and in order to be able to breathe And to get rid of the Western interference in their internal affairs, which can lead to their overthrow and even death, is to get closer to the East.
These days, especially the war in Gaza has affected everything. Until recently, Türkiye still thought that Israel; It will destroy Gaza and Hamas, so it had taken a different method (supporting Israel logistically), but now it is clear that the plans will not go according to the wishes of Israel and the West, but the page has turned. So, like Saudi Arabia and some others, he has been forced to change his position.
In these days, Türkiye and Israel have engaged in security conflicts; Among others, Türkiye has arrested a number of Mossad spies. This act shows a very hard conflict between them. Of course, in these days, the president of Turkey criticized Israel and even threatened that if Israel enters Lebanon, he will go to war with this country. If we want to take this point seriously and not consider Erdoğan’s short-sightedness; As a result, the confrontation of Turkey as a member of NATO with Israel as an ally (master) of America is a very complicated issue.
The story becomes more complicated when Israel has declared war on Iran by killing Ismail Haniyeh, and both sides are gathering forces, and there is a possibility of a large and comprehensive global war. As a result, even Türkiye’s verbal position can be important.
The special strategic position of Türkiye!
With a simple look at the world map, we realize the special position of Türkiye:
On the one hand, Turkey borders Russia and Ukraine, two countries that are at full-scale war with each other, and they have to pass through Turkey to cross the Black Sea.
And Türkiye is forced to use special methods against them in many ways.
Also, Türkiye has a border with Europe and part of it is part of Europe.
On the other hand, Turkey borders Iran, Iraq and Syria and is very close to Lebanon and Israel. Where there is also a war, and if the war between Iran (East) and Israel (West) takes place, the policy to be adopted will be very sensitive and decisive.
So, if a war breaks out between Iran and Israel, Turkey will be between two and even three wars (due to its presence in Syria), and declaring neutrality may not be an easy task for it.
Türkiye’s military presence in African countries also causes him a headache.
Hint!
The tough competition between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt for the leadership of the Sunni world should also be included in the equations of the position holders of these countries. Therefore, they should adopt methods that can attract the opinion of Sunni Muslims, while the war in Gaza and the killing of the people there have forced many Sunni Muslims to support Shiite Iran, and its continuation can isolate them among their own people.
August 3, 2024
Uppsala – Sweden
The philosopher of the school
M. Hassan Baygan
