Director of the ORSAM Center Reveals to Al-Estiklal the Map of Turkiye’s Policies in the Region and the World
Turkish Professor Dr. Ahmet Uysal, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (ORSAM), confirmed that the opposition parties, supported by the West, are seeking to push Turkiye to live in isolation from the Middle Eastern geography of which it is a part.
In an interview with Al-Estiklal, Dr. Uysal ruled out that this would be achieved, stressing that Turkiye has strong historical and religious ties with Saudi Arabia, and its rapprochement with Egypt is necessary for the interest of the region, and at the same time, it wants Iraq to be strong and stable at all levels.
Regarding the worsening refugee crisis in the country, he said that Turkiye has embraced those fleeing the Syrian regime's repression, and it wants the Syrians to return, but this return should not open the door to a new crisis.
He stressed that the Turks are by nature a people who want to help others, so it can be said that campaigns to inflame racism against foreigners are doomed to failure.
Internationally, Dr. Uysal explained that Turkiye is working hard to play a mediating role to avoid a global food crisis, and today, with its independent and unaffiliated position, it is respected by Russia and the West as well.
Dr. Uysal is a political sociology professor interested in studying Arab affairs and Arab-Turkish relations. He is the founder and director of the ORSAM Center for Middle Eastern Studies and is fluent in Arabic and English in addition to Turkish.
Tense Area
• What is the background of the recent turmoil between Turkiye and Iraq, and what is Iran's role in it?
Dr. Ahmet Uysal: First, our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the injured in the Dohuk accident, and I would like to stress that Turkiye avoids causing any civilian casualties.
It works to preserve civilian property through the utmost accuracy and by using smart weapons that enabled the Turkish army to avoid some of the mistakes that were taking place years before the ruling Justice and Development Party.
The success of the Justice and Development Government also comes from its distinction between the locations of terrorists and civilians inside and outside Turkiye.
Historically, Turks, Arabs, and Kurds have lived together for more than a thousand years, and currently, they have strong neighborly relations and friendships.
Therefore, there is no interest for Turkiye to deliberately bomb civilians, especially since Turkiye needs Iraq to be strong and stable at all levels, so that common interests are not harmed.
It is known that there is a serious political crisis currently in Iraq, and Turkiye has nothing to do with this crisis.
All parties suffer from the security chaos in various Iraqi cities, especially Turkiye, which is affected by the terrorist activities of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Today, the PKK poses a threat not only to Turkiye but to Iraq and as well as to the Kurdistan region.
There is a consensus among three parties, Iran, the United States, and the PKK, that Iraq should not rise and that the Iraqi state should be weakened so that it remains dependent on these two countries.
Meanwhile, the PKK is exploiting this state of dependence and political and security instability to find a safe haven, with the support of Washington, unfortunately.
• What is the fate of the northern Syria operation despite the Iranian and Russian rejection of it?
Dr. Ahmet Uysal: Turkiye sees the presence of terrorist organizations on its southern borders as a threat to its national security; therefore, it is working to eradicate these entities from the region.
Turkiye wants to solve the problem of the presence of terrorist organizations in Syria near the Turkish borders, in coordination with Russia and Iran, within the framework of the Astana dialogue table, through which the three countries were able to provide a minimum level of stability in Syria.
Therefore, we imagine that Turkiye will continue its fight against terrorism, and this is what we have heard publicly from Turkish officials on more than one occasion.
Regional Relations
• What is the importance of the Turkish-Gulf rapprochement at the strategic level?
Dr. Ahmet Uysal: Turkiye and Saudi Arabia are important countries and are linked by strong historical and religious ties, and therefore it is not in the interest of either country to have lingering differences.
Especially at a time when we see the world order starting to take shape again after the Russian-Ukrainian war and the accompanying intensification of the American-Chinese conflict.
Therefore, the Turkish-Gulf rapprochement in general and Saudi Arabia, in particular, does not come in isolation from global events.
In addition, the world is going through an economic crisis that affects all countries, which is why Turkiye wants to cross these crises in partnership with the countries of the region with minimum losses.
Meanwhile, the Gulf states also need allies after the continued attacks of Iran and the US exit from Afghanistan.
• How far have Turkish-Egyptian relations reached, especially with regard to the situation in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean?
Dr. Ahmet Uysal: Turkiye is working on friendly relations with all the countries of the Arab region, starting from Iraq to the countries of the Maghreb, and is working to solve the crises that negatively affect Turkish-Arab relations.
Turkiye and Egypt can play an important role in resolving the region's crises, which is why rapprochement between them is very necessary.
It is possible that we will see in the coming period a further development in relations between Egypt and Turkiye, which is in the interest of extracting natural gas and resolving the Libyan crisis.
In addition, it is possible to bring the two countries together at the dialogue table even more, as both countries have an interest in maintaining stability in Libya.
• How do you evaluate the position of the Turkish state in support of the Palestinian cause?
Dr. Ahmet Uysal: Turkiye works for peace, and the Palestinian cause is deeply rooted in the conscience of the Turkish people.
The Turkish government stands by the Palestinian cause, whether through bilateral relations or in international forums.
In addition, Turkiye works in partnership with the Palestinian government and provides the necessary aid to solve the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli blockade imposed on it for years.
At the internal Turkish level, there is great popular support for the Palestinian cause among the various factions and parties of Turkiye.
Rising Force
• What are the manifestations of the growing regional role of Turkiye at the present time?
Dr. Ahmet Uysal: Recently, Turkey has proven that it is a reliable regional actor, moving independently in its decisions.
Therefore, we see that it has worked effectively to bring the Russian and Ukrainian parties together at the dialogue table in Istanbul on more than one occasion.
The last of them was regarding opening a safe corridor to transport grains and fertilizers from Ukraine to Turkiye, and to the global market, in order to avoid a global food crisis that knocked on doors.
On the Middle East level, Turkiye is working within the framework of the Astana talks to solve the Syrian crisis and wants its southern borders to be secure, and it has good relations with Iraq and the Gulf states.
After the detente in Turkish-Gulf relations, it is possible to see Turkiye more effective in working to resolve the region's crises internally.
• What are Turkiye's gains from playing the role of mediator between Russia and Ukraine?
Dr. Ahmet Uysal: The world is going through an energy crisis and the intensification of competition between major powers; it is not wrong if we say that we are living in a global conflict that threatens international peace and security.
Turkiye is working hard to play a mediating role to avoid a global food crisis, and today, with its independent position, it is respected by Russia and the West as well.
The global economic crisis affects all countries, including Turkiye, and the role that Ankara plays as a mediator gives a good impression that it is a reliable country in resolving global crises and gives it freedom of movement in the global system.
Turkiye has so far succeeded in bringing together the warring parties in Ukraine, and therefore it can be said that Turkiye's role will continue after its efforts were welcomed by the West, America, and Russia.
Internal Mode
• What is the nature of the competition between the Justice and Development Party and the opposition parties in the context of preparations for the 2023 elections?
Dr. Ahmet Uysal: Turkiye has a competitive democracy, and it is normal to see competition between political parties.
However, the opposition parties are working to inflame the situation socially through the infusion of the media against foreigners residing in Turkiye.
The opposition parties, supported by the West, are seeking to push Turkiye to live in isolation from the Middle Eastern geography of which it is a part, and this cannot be achieved.
In addition, attempts to generalize negative behaviors by members of some foreign communities in Turkiye that contradict Turkish values as behaviors of all foreigners will fail because they are not in Turkiye's interest and will harm its reputation and economy as well.
• What is the policy of the Justice and Development Party in dealing with the dilemma of foreigners and how to confront racism against them?
Dr. Ahmet Uysal: It can be said that the AKP's policy is based on embracing refugees fleeing wars and humanitarian crises.
Turkiye has embraced those fleeing the Syrian regime's repression, and it wants the Syrians to return, but this return should not open the door to a new crisis.
Many Turkish people sympathize with these oppressed refugees who left their country because of wars and oppression, and the racism that we see on social media cannot be touched in reality.
The Turks are, by nature, people who want to help others, so it can be said that the racist campaigns against foreigners are doomed to failure.
• What is your interpretation of the attempts to overthrow the Turkish government through the economic crisis?
Dr. Ahmet Uysal: The economic crisis that Turkiye is going through is part of the global crisis experienced by all countries of the world. We had seen anti-government demonstrations in many countries against the backdrop of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and price hikes.
Although the Turkish state prospered economically under the rule of the Justice and Development Party, the country was also affected economically by the successive global crises affecting all countries.
On the other hand, the opposition parties in Turkiye do not have a clear economic vision that they can present to the Turkish people because everyone knows the dimensions of the crisis and that it is not confined to Turkiye.
