Foreign policy of the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan government

The most urgent issue for Turkish diplomacy, in this context, was to harmonize Turkey's influential power axes with the new international environment.

"[1] "During the Cold War, Turkey was a "wing country" under NATO's strategic framework, resting on the geographic perimeter of the Western alliance.

These developments worried some Western observers that Turkey,[3] frustrated by its stalled EU accession drive among other things, is seeking to recalibrate its foreign policy, not just by moving closer to the Muslim world but also by turning away from the West.

Davutoğlu's professor[6] and close adviser of former President Turgut Özal, Greek geopolitician Dimitri Kitsikis has had a decisive influence on his geopolitical theory.

[7] Although geopolitics still comprises a key framework of Davutoğlu's strategic thinking, it is supplemented by liberal elements, such as soft power, conflict resolution and promotion of "win-win" solutions.

In Davutoğlu's view, Turkey is a Middle Eastern, Balkan, Caucasian, Central Asian, Caspian, Mediterranean, Gulf and Black Sea country, can simultaneously exercise influence in all these regions and thus claim a global strategic role.

On the domestic front, Turkey needs to resolve its own Kurdish question, as well as bridge the growing rift between the Islamist and secularist elements of Turkish society.

Davutoğlu advocates the resolution of both conflicts on the basis of liberal principles: Turkey's strategic potential will be released if a fair and lasting solution for the Kurdish issue is reached, which will guarantee Kurdish minority rights within Turkey and a liberal consensus is achieved on the question of secularism between different segments of Turkish society.

On the international front, Davutoğlu argues that Turkey needs to resolve all the bilateral disputes which have hampered its relations with its neighbours.

For Turkey to become a regional leader and play a global strategic role, it needs to overcome phobic syndromes and establish cordial relations with all its neighbours.

Its foreign policy should aim to resolve all the pending disputes which Turkey's diplomatic inertia had accumulated in the past, so it can seek its own global strategic role.

Developing close relations with all rising global powers, China, India, Russia and Brazil, would be a key in that process.

To achieve them, Turkey must make progress in all directions and in every field, take an interest in every issue related to global stability, and contribute accordingly.

[12] Following a greatly improved security situation in Mogadishu in mid-2011, the Turkish government also re-opened its foreign embassy with the intention of more effectively assisting in the post-conflict development process.

Turkish-Brazilian Business Council was established on the occasion of the visit of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdullah Gül to Brazil in January 2006.

On 16 May 2010, after 17 hours of talks in Tehran, ministers from Brazil, Iran and Turkey had reached an agreement on the "principles" to revive a stalled nuclear fuel-swap deal backed by the United Nations.

This "football diplomacy" and new dialogue resulted in the signing of protocols between Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers in Switzerland to improve relations between the two countries.

On 19 September 2010, a religious ceremony was held at this historical Armenian church after permission of the Turkish government for the first time in 95 years.

In 2007, Prime Minister Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis met on the bridge over the Evros River at the border between Greece and Turkey, for the inauguration of the Greek-Turkish natural gas pipeline, linking the longtime Aegean rivals through a project that will give Caspian gas its first direct Western outlet and help ease Russia's energy dominance.

In November 2005, Putin attended together with the inauguration of a jointly constructed Blue Stream natural gas pipeline in Turkey.

[citation needed] The Alliance of Civilizations which is intended to respond to the need for a committed effort by the international community, both at the institutional and civil society levels, to bridge divides and overcome prejudice, misconceptions, misperceptions, and polarization which potentially threaten world peace, was initiated by Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain, co-sponsored by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

[30] Erdoğan gave a speech to the members of the ruling AKP, which was broadcast live by some Arabic TV channels, including Al Jazeera.

In our world today, freedoms can no longer be postponed or ignored.On 6 June 2011, Erdogan said in a meeting with the delegation of representatives of Egypt's young revolutionaries, who were visiting Turkey, that democracy guaranteed rights and basic freedoms, especially for women and children and that they should select a president with characteristics like honesty and sincerity, so that the people will gain a lot of support.

Distancing itself from the United States and the European Union, Erdoğan made repeated statements on Western double standards regarding nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.

Iran's nuclear ambitions were evidently an issue of utmost significance for Turkish national security, as well as an opportunity for Davutoğlu to put his proactive foreign policy vision into work.

The Prime Minister also attended Doha VIII Democracy, Development and Free Trade Forum as a keynote speaker.

During the visits, both sides agreed to improve the relations especially in the economic and energy fields and strengthen their cooperation on the regional issues.

In recent years importance has been given to regional issues and to the improvement of bilateral relations to strengthen political, economic and military ties.

[44] During Erdoğan's term of office prior to the Syrian civil war, diplomatic relations between Turkey and Syria had significantly improved.

[citation needed] Erdoğan argued that these five countries had undermined the purpose of the United Nations and mentioned the UNSC's failure on creating solutions and making peace on Palestine, Syria and other places.