HURRIYET- Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on Turkey’s relations with Middle Eastern countries. A summary of her column is as follows:
Last week I visited Baghdad, the capital of a neighboring country which recently decided to improve its relations with Turkey in order to stave off the threat of US intervention.
Today, I’m visiting Damascus, the capital of another neighboring country which also believes in the necessity of improving its bilateral relations with our country.
Damascus is still a beautiful city. Syria’s young leader Bashar Al-Assad is open to changing his policies to bolster his country’s relations with Europe as well as Turkey. Democratization is another top issue on his agenda. He symbolizes the beginning of new changes. A new leader and new hopes...
On Saturday night, university students held a demonstration in Damascus to protest the Israeli siege of the Palestinian territories. Meanwhile, the Syrian, Saudi Arabian and Egyptian leaders issued a statement denouncing the ongoing violence in the Middle East on the same day.
Each step to be jointly taken by Israel and the Palestinians would greatly contribute to the improvement of relations between those countries. Such a development would be much more helpful than expected.
I have recognized during my visits to those cities that the region has a great potential for development. Additionally, I have become aware that establishing good relations with the Middle Eastern countries is undeniably Turkey’s fate.
While Turkey, a country on its path towards the EU, is a great treasure for the Middle East, the region also has a great deal of potential for development which is very important for Turkey. Turkey’s trade volumes with Iraq and Syria have already reached one billion dollars.
I can see more clearly here in Damascus what Turkey would do to contribute to the development of the region with its new economy policies represented by Kemal Dervis and what kind of opportunities it could provide for its neighbors.