Contradictory Vectors in Turkish Foreign Policy and the Search for Answers to International Calls

Turkey’s foreign policy is struggling in an arena full of contradictory vectors. In his recent speech to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), Kayseri MP Mahmut Arıkan discussed these contradictions in foreign policy and the international challenges Turkey faces.

Contradictions and Conflicts: Turkey’s Dilemma in Foreign Policy

MP Arıkan highlighted the conflicts and contradictions in foreign policy, pointing out the difficulties Turkey is facing with its NATO membership, as well as the purchase of S-400 air defense systems from Russia. Such decisions have strained relations with the United States, while full membership negotiations with the European Union have been marred by continental shelf disputes with Greece.

The MP was particularly critical of Turkey’s policies on Palestine. Although Turkey has declared its support for Hamas, concrete steps, such as the suspension of trade, have been taken too late. This reveals Turkey’s crisis of governance in foreign policy.

The Palestinian Issue and International Reactions

In his speech at the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Arıkan also shared the latest developments regarding Israel and Gaza. The Israeli military’s cutting off aid to Gaza and the escalation of violence in the region should be among the top priorities on Turkey’s foreign policy agenda. Arıkan also touched upon the mass graves from which the bodies of Palestinians have been exhumed and emphasized that the international community should be more involved in this situation.

D8 and Restructuring: Erbakan’s Legacy

In another important part of his speech, Arıkan commemorated the Developing Eight Countries (D8) organization founded by the late Necmettin Erbakan and reminded us of the values that this platform represents. By emphasizing principles such as peace instead of war, justice instead of double standards, and human rights instead of oppression, the D8 suggests the path Turkey should follow in international politics. Erbakan’s initiatives offer a platform that can generate solutions, especially for conflict-ridden regions such as Gaza, East Turkistan and Syria.

Conclusion: A New Paradigm in Foreign Policy

MP Mahmut Arıkan’s in-depth analysis of foreign policy reveals the challenges Turkey faces and the strategic steps that should be taken in international fora. It is clear that the contradictory policies pursued in foreign policy should be re-evaluated and a peace and justice-oriented approach should be adopted in international relations. Turkey can create a new paradigm by returning to Erbakan’s principles in the D8 to overcome its foreign policy challenges and play a more influential role on the global stage.

In his speeches on the subject, Arıkan used the following expressions;

I share with you a few of the foreign policy news in the press today: One headline: “Back-to-back Attacks on German Politicians! European Left Vows Fight Against Far Right” Another headline: ”Kremlin: Allegations that NATO will send troops to Ukraine are a provocation” Another headline: ‘Relatives of Israeli Hostages Block Road, Call Once Again for Deal with Hamas’ Another headline: ”The Latest on Rafah: Kerem Shalom Border Crossing Opened, Clashes with Hamas Start in the East” We can all guess the news texts under all these headlines. Unfortunately, there is no good news for Turkey in any of them. For those of us living in a country where there is a de facto war in the south and north, a war of tutelage in the east and a psychological war in the west, foreign policy is an issue that we need to talk about much more carefully. But just like the 204 group proposals I mentioned earlier, just like the elections, just like the constitutional debates, we cannot talk about foreign policy as we should. Why can’t we talk? Because we are experiencing a case of conflicting vectors in foreign policy.

For example, Turkey, a member of NATO, is buying the S-400 air defense system from Russia, but relations with the US are strained. For example, Turkey’s full membership negotiations with the European Union continue, but on the one hand, there is a continental shelf dispute with Greece. For example – and this is the most obvious example – Turkey supposedly takes a tough stance on the Palestinian issue, expressing its support for Hamas, but only after two hundred and seven days, after 35,000 people have died, Turkey decides to halt trade. Of course, we do not claim that it is easy to manage foreign policy with these conflicting vectors, but we claim that there is a crisis of management here. We can see this in the Foreign Ministry’s National Foreign Policy Document in Turkey’s Century, on the Foreign Ministry’s “website”, our country is highly praised for mediation, but we have been living the bitter reality in Palestine for two hundred and fourteen days. Unfortunately, we have seen what has been done and what has not been done, and how much of a mediator Turkey has been. At the point we have reached in twenty years of uninterrupted AK Party rule, we clearly see the results of wrong decisions in domestic politics and economy in foreign policy today.

Dear friends, today in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, in the context of foreign policy, we need to talk about East Turkestan and Gaza, not defense industry cooperation with Uzbekistan, not the Driver’s License Recognition Agreement with Palestine. At the beginning of my speech, I mentioned some press summaries, and now I will share with you a few headlines about Palestine. One headline: “Israeli army closes main arteries of aid to Gaza.” Another headline: “Israeli army fired 18 rockets at Kerem Abu Salim and Raim in Rafah.” Another headline: “49 Palestinian bodies exhumed from third mass grave at Shifa hospital.” These headlines should have been our agenda items in foreign policy when the whole world was on its feet, when students were rioting in the world’s leading universities, when babies are still dying today at this hour.

Dear deputies, the most important topic of foreign policy and the current international public opinion is undoubtedly international organizations. Especially after October 7, 2023, we have once again seen how important this is. On this occasion, it would be useful to remind once again the D8s, which were built with the initiatives of our late Necmettin Erbakan, whose 29th anniversary we will celebrate next month. I would like to share with you the meaning of the six stars on the flag of the D8s:

1) Peace, not war.

2) Dialogue, not confrontation.

3) Fairness, not double standards.

4) Equality, not superiority.

5) Fair order, not exploitation.

6) Human rights, freedom and democracy, not oppression and domination.

Turkey’s rethinking this paradigm in its foreign policy and utilizing its potential here will make Gaza, East Turkistan, Syria and many other geographies in need of a solution happy.