BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET- Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Turkey’s foreign policy. A summary of his column is as follows:
Whether Ankara should take sides with the United States or the European Union in steering its foreign policy is one of our country’s eternal debates. A couple of days ago, speaking to a Washington think tank, Bernard Lewis reiterated this question once more: ‘Should Turkey choose the US or the EU?’ Remarking that in the past Turkey had constantly had to make critical choices in its foreign policy, Lewis, a well-known scholar of both Turkish and Middle Eastern history, claimed that Turkey is now at a crossroads where it will have to choose between the US or the EU.
But does our country really have to make a choice between these two paths? It seems that the Iraq issue is putting pressure on our officials to cast their lot with either the EU or the US, two different and even contradictory powers. However, if Ankara chooses now between these two alternates, this doesn’t mean that it’s committing itself permanently to one side or the other. I think Ankara should be able to make choices on a case-by-case basis.
We shouldn’t feel obliged to make such a choice. The various EU countries don’t have to adopt a common foreign policy. There is no such obligation. If Turkey were in the EU now, it would develop a policy to protect its own national interests. The EU countries can’t maintain their unity during times of international crisis. For example, despite ever-growing anti-American feeling on the continent, Germany recently adopted a more flexible Iraq policy bringing Berlin closer to Washington.
Although our Parliament’s rejection of US troop deployments before the Iraq war served to satisfy certain EU circles, this doesn’t mean that the European countries have decided to welcome us with open arms. We’re all well aware of the conditions upon which our EU membership is dependent (e.g. Cyprus).
In sum, I’d like to underline there’s no need to make a choice between these two poles. Ankara should adopt a foreign policy in light of its own national interests and so work to maintain good relations with both the EU and the US.