Turkey’s Syria policy is a controversial issue that has changed and evolved, according to the of-the-moment conditions of the region and influence of various actors inside and outside of the Middle East.
After the Justice and Development Party (AKP) won elections in 2002, government officials developed a “zero problem policy” with neighboring countries. This was a determining theory for Turkish foreign policy, and Turkey opened a positive dialogue with the Syrian government and President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey and Syria established a higher council for strategic cooperation and abolished visa formalities, while Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan supported Assad in international forums after the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Harriri in 2005. Besides this, Turkey had a major role during the negotiations over the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel in 2007 and 2008. These two countries even organized a joint military exercise in 2009, while Erdoğan and his family established personal and close relations with Assad’s family.
Since the uprising against Assad's government begun in March 2011, the Turkish government’s reaction was initially to talk to Assad and try to convince him to implement political reforms. But when the violence in Syria grew more serious and the flow of refugees had a bigger impact on Turkey, the AKP started to criticize the Syrian government publicly and focus on different solution methods. Doğan Ertuğrul summarizes Turkey’s policy in three steps between March 2011 and May 2012: “A) pressure on the Bashar al-Assad government for constitutional reform; B) attempts at unifying dissident groups under a single roof and promoting international sanctions; C) a return to efforts towards a UN-based solution (the Annan Plan)”.
The crisis in Syria increasingly grew in importance for Turkey as the uprising affected PKK activities in the region, the massive refugee flow from Syria to Turkey, and Turkey’s trade interests in the Middle East. After Turkey’s demands for political reform were denied by the Assad regime, the AKP government has started to organize and support rebel groups (including the Syrian National Council and Free Syrian Army). During this period, Turkey has opened the border and accepted Syrian refugees. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, in southern Turkey, there are currently 14 camps for Syrian refugees and the number of refugees has grown more than 100.000. Turkey has been providing shelter, food, and protection for these refugees while meeting their needs of education and health. Recently Turkey has given Syrian refugees the right to continue their higher education, with the title of “special student”, in seven different Turkish universities that are located in the cities close to Syrian border.
After the Annan Plan was introduced to end the conflict in Syria, Turkey has defended it. In one of his articles written in April 2012, Coordinator for Public Diplomacy of the Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Dr. İbrahim Kalın claimed that the Annan Plan could be a step forward, saying that “A concerted and sustained pressure is needed under the Annan Plan”.
But after May 2012, Turkey has taken a more confrontational position and tried to convince her allies and NATO to establish a “no-fly zone” or a “buffer zone” in northern Syria. This could only be achieved by a military intervention, but neither NATO nor the U.S. currently has any intention of using military force. This situation has disappointed AKP officials. After the cross border fire that caused the deaths of five Turkish civilians in the small village of Akçakale in October 2012, Turkey condemned the attack and responded with cross border fire that hit Syrian military targets close to the border. Besides this, Turkey has applied to the United Nations and NATO to increase pressure on Syria. Both UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned the Syrian regime and declared support for Turkey.
On the other hand, these international declarations, Turkey started to make some changes. Prof. Dr. Mensur Akgün and Prof. Dr. Beril Dedeoğlu agree that Ankara has softened her way of communication with Syria, while Prof. Dr. Soli Özel says that Turkey has changed her policy because “Ankara’s repressive jargon has disturbed her allies”.
The AKP government’s Syria policy has become a controversial issue in Turkey and has attracted criticism since the beginning of the insurgency in Syria. For example, some experts believe that AKP officials have followed a “sectarian policy” against the Syrian government. Intellectual and journalist Nuray Mert claims that Turkey’s Syria policy is ideological and sectarian. Mert says that the Turkish government is driven by the ideology of neo-Ottomanism and their political attitude can easily be recognized as sectarian. On the other hand, journalist Cengiz Çandar denies this allegation and evaluates this critique as “unfair”, while scholars Erol Cebeci and Kadir Üstün assert that “Turkey’s historical foreign policy reflexes are not sectarian but internationalist and democratic”.
Some experts suggest that Turkey has gone too far and acted too ambitiously during this crisis. For example David Gardner from the Financial Times claims that “Turkey...may have bitten more than it can chew”, an opinion shared by opposition political movements in Turkey. The AKP government has also been criticized because of Kurdish involvement in Syria, since Turkey’s political struggle against the Assad regime is claimed to be positive for Kurdish groups. Sinan Ülgen summarizes the Kurdish dimension of Syrian crisis by saying: “The fear in Turkey is of Syria’s disintegration into ethnically and religiously purer mini-states, with a Kurdish entity in the north, an Alawite entity in the west, and a Sunni entity in the rest. The Kurdish opposition’s recent unilateral power grab in northeastern Syria rekindled Turkish concerns about the emergence of an independent Kurdish entity linking the north of Iraq to the north of Syria”.
What are the next steps for Turkey? As of November 2012, Turkey is exercising more peaceful methods in her relations with Syria. Even though tensions may rise between these two countries from time to time, according to experts, Turkey will show her political attitude by providing camps for Syrian refugees, taking care of their medical and educational needs, and politically supporting Syrian opposition in the international forums while establishing better relations and dialogue with countries that have supported Assad, such as Iran and Russia. For now, Turkey will go on her way with this revised Syria policy, depending on more diplomacy than aggressive politics.
Gönenç Ünaldı is an independent researcher and writer living in Istanbul, Turkey. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences from Eskişehir Anadolu University in Turkey, and his Master’s degree in International Relations from Istanbul Kültür University in Turkey.
Photo: Refugees cross the Turkish-Syrian border, fleeing the violence in Syria. Syria Freedom (cc).
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Neighborly Strife: The Evolution of Turkey's Syria Policy
January 11, 2013
Turkey’s Syria policy is a controversial issue that has changed and evolved, according to the of-the-moment conditions of the region and influence of various actors inside and outside of the Middle East.
After the Justice and Development Party (AKP) won elections in 2002, government officials developed a “zero problem policy” with neighboring countries. This was a determining theory for Turkish foreign policy, and Turkey opened a positive dialogue with the Syrian government and President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey and Syria established a higher council for strategic cooperation and abolished visa formalities, while Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan supported Assad in international forums after the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Harriri in 2005. Besides this, Turkey had a major role during the negotiations over the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel in 2007 and 2008. These two countries even organized a joint military exercise in 2009, while Erdoğan and his family established personal and close relations with Assad’s family.
Since the uprising against Assad's government begun in March 2011, the Turkish government’s reaction was initially to talk to Assad and try to convince him to implement political reforms. But when the violence in Syria grew more serious and the flow of refugees had a bigger impact on Turkey, the AKP started to criticize the Syrian government publicly and focus on different solution methods. Doğan Ertuğrul summarizes Turkey’s policy in three steps between March 2011 and May 2012: “A) pressure on the Bashar al-Assad government for constitutional reform; B) attempts at unifying dissident groups under a single roof and promoting international sanctions; C) a return to efforts towards a UN-based solution (the Annan Plan)”.
The crisis in Syria increasingly grew in importance for Turkey as the uprising affected PKK activities in the region, the massive refugee flow from Syria to Turkey, and Turkey’s trade interests in the Middle East. After Turkey’s demands for political reform were denied by the Assad regime, the AKP government has started to organize and support rebel groups (including the Syrian National Council and Free Syrian Army). During this period, Turkey has opened the border and accepted Syrian refugees. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, in southern Turkey, there are currently 14 camps for Syrian refugees and the number of refugees has grown more than 100.000. Turkey has been providing shelter, food, and protection for these refugees while meeting their needs of education and health. Recently Turkey has given Syrian refugees the right to continue their higher education, with the title of “special student”, in seven different Turkish universities that are located in the cities close to Syrian border.
After the Annan Plan was introduced to end the conflict in Syria, Turkey has defended it. In one of his articles written in April 2012, Coordinator for Public Diplomacy of the Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Dr. İbrahim Kalın claimed that the Annan Plan could be a step forward, saying that “A concerted and sustained pressure is needed under the Annan Plan”.
But after May 2012, Turkey has taken a more confrontational position and tried to convince her allies and NATO to establish a “no-fly zone” or a “buffer zone” in northern Syria. This could only be achieved by a military intervention, but neither NATO nor the U.S. currently has any intention of using military force. This situation has disappointed AKP officials. After the cross border fire that caused the deaths of five Turkish civilians in the small village of Akçakale in October 2012, Turkey condemned the attack and responded with cross border fire that hit Syrian military targets close to the border. Besides this, Turkey has applied to the United Nations and NATO to increase pressure on Syria. Both UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned the Syrian regime and declared support for Turkey.
On the other hand, these international declarations, Turkey started to make some changes. Prof. Dr. Mensur Akgün and Prof. Dr. Beril Dedeoğlu agree that Ankara has softened her way of communication with Syria, while Prof. Dr. Soli Özel says that Turkey has changed her policy because “Ankara’s repressive jargon has disturbed her allies”.
The AKP government’s Syria policy has become a controversial issue in Turkey and has attracted criticism since the beginning of the insurgency in Syria. For example, some experts believe that AKP officials have followed a “sectarian policy” against the Syrian government. Intellectual and journalist Nuray Mert claims that Turkey’s Syria policy is ideological and sectarian. Mert says that the Turkish government is driven by the ideology of neo-Ottomanism and their political attitude can easily be recognized as sectarian. On the other hand, journalist Cengiz Çandar denies this allegation and evaluates this critique as “unfair”, while scholars Erol Cebeci and Kadir Üstün assert that “Turkey’s historical foreign policy reflexes are not sectarian but internationalist and democratic”.
Some experts suggest that Turkey has gone too far and acted too ambitiously during this crisis. For example David Gardner from the Financial Times claims that “Turkey...may have bitten more than it can chew”, an opinion shared by opposition political movements in Turkey. The AKP government has also been criticized because of Kurdish involvement in Syria, since Turkey’s political struggle against the Assad regime is claimed to be positive for Kurdish groups. Sinan Ülgen summarizes the Kurdish dimension of Syrian crisis by saying: “The fear in Turkey is of Syria’s disintegration into ethnically and religiously purer mini-states, with a Kurdish entity in the north, an Alawite entity in the west, and a Sunni entity in the rest. The Kurdish opposition’s recent unilateral power grab in northeastern Syria rekindled Turkish concerns about the emergence of an independent Kurdish entity linking the north of Iraq to the north of Syria”.
What are the next steps for Turkey? As of November 2012, Turkey is exercising more peaceful methods in her relations with Syria. Even though tensions may rise between these two countries from time to time, according to experts, Turkey will show her political attitude by providing camps for Syrian refugees, taking care of their medical and educational needs, and politically supporting Syrian opposition in the international forums while establishing better relations and dialogue with countries that have supported Assad, such as Iran and Russia. For now, Turkey will go on her way with this revised Syria policy, depending on more diplomacy than aggressive politics.
Gönenç Ünaldı is an independent researcher and writer living in Istanbul, Turkey. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences from Eskişehir Anadolu University in Turkey, and his Master’s degree in International Relations from Istanbul Kültür University in Turkey.
Photo: Refugees cross the Turkish-Syrian border, fleeing the violence in Syria. Syria Freedom (cc).
