...

Expert: Turkey loses role of leader in region

Türkiye Materials 7 July 2011 09:00 (UTC +04:00)
The belated recognition of Libya's Transitional Government by Ankara and the passivity in resolving the Syrian crisis will reduce the credibility of Turkey and deprive its leadership in the region, Arab political analyst on the Middle East Ismail Yasha said
Expert: Turkey loses role of leader in region

Azerbaijan, Baku, July 6 / Trend A. Tagiyeva /

The belated recognition of Libya's Transitional Government by Ankara and the passivity in resolving the Syrian crisis will reduce the credibility of Turkey and deprive its leadership in the region, Arab political analyst on the Middle East Ismail Yasha said.

"Turkey, playing an important role in regional processes, began to lead a policy of noninterference in the events occurring in the region," he told Trend over phone from Riyadh. This can reduce its influence in the region."

Turkey recognized the Libyan opposition Transitional National Council as the legitimate representative of the people of this country and virtually severed relations with Gaddafi's regime by recalling ambassador to Tripoli, Turkish media reported.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu met with the leadership of the Libyan Transitional National Council in Benghazi, the main opposition center. He announced about allocating $200 million in addition to $100 million, allocated earlier, to the Libyan opposition by Ankara.

The expert said that there is the certain dependence on the West's decisions towards the Middle East in Turkey's policy. Ankara, which previously acted as the main initiator of resolving the problems of the region, began to take all decisions only after the West's approval, Yasha said.

The expert also expressed concern about Turkey's policy toward Syria.

"If Turkey repeats the same mistakes in the issue with Syria as with Libya," he said. "This will negatively affect the credibility of Ankara among Middle Eastern countries."

Yasha said that Turkish Foreign Minister's visit to Syria was a fault of Erdogan's government, because Ankara has recognized the legitimacy of the Syrian authorities by this visit.

Turkish Foreign Minister paid a visit to Syria on April 8, where he met with President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallim.

The riots in Syria began in the southern city of Dera'a in mid-March. Then they spread to other regions. Syrian human rights activists report that more than 1,300 people were killed in clashes with security forces.

Latest

Latest