Why does Germany not want peace in the Middle East?

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent visit to France touched upon two important topics that need to be reviewed. The first is that Erdoğan verbalized Turkey's firm resolution on the EU membership process and underscored that this process would continue with the contribution of France. Secondly, two leaders, Erdoğan and French President François Hollande mutually confirmed that they did not reach any consensus over the strategic topics regarding the conflict in the Middle East. Hollande stressed that they support the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the Syrian civil war and they are of the same opinion as Turkey regarding the Assad regime and Turkey's idea of establishing a secure zone in Syria. Hollande also remarked that not only the Syrian town of Kobani, but also the entirety of Iraq is an immediate danger. These remarks of Hollande clearly indicate that France has entered a completely different path from that of the Sarkozy administration. France now seems to have derailed from the footsteps of Germany in its state policy. Previously, cartoons depicting former French President Nicolas Sarkozy as a waiter serving food to German Chancellor Angela Merkel used to remind us of the puppet Vichy regime, which was in the grip of Nazi Germany and was governed by Philippe Pétain in the city of Vichy during World War II. France seems to have understood that following the lead of Germany, like during World War II, will make it pay a heavy price.

We are well aware that today Germany wants to see a process of fragmentation - which is similar to Balkanization experienced in Eastern Europe in the 1990s - in the Middle East and Caucasia by transforming cold conflict areas into hot conflict areas. Germany and Russia want the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) to block oil and natural gas fields in Syria and Iraq, as energy flow from Iraq and the Caspian Region to Europe passing through Turkey will not only relegate Germany's role in the EU but will also make German industry dependent on Azerbaijani energy via Turkey. When the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) becomes fully operational, it will marginalize Germany as it will put an end to Germany and Russia's dominance over energy in eastern and southern Europe. Those who object to the SGC today are also the supporters of ISIS. However, Turkey sees that only when all the clashes in the Middle East and North Africa end can Mosul and Kirkuk's energy resources be commercialized through pipelines, which means the EU's dependency on Russian energy will decline. This situation, which is for the benefit of all of Europe, does not serve to benefit Germany, which turns a cold shoulder to the SGC as it will take Turkey as its center. It rather prefers that the EU remain dependent on Russian gas. From this perspective alone, it is possible to say that Germany is a clandestine supporter of Russia for its position on Ukraine and Crimea. It also supports terror stirred by ISIS in the Middle East and disapproves of Turkey's reconciliation process, which is aiming at a comprehensive peace with Kurds, and objects to the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) right to self-determination.

Fortunately, France has come to realize that Turkey's reconciliation process will not bring peace to Turkey alone; it will be the only solution for its own future and the whole EU with integration projects and policies in a wide strategic geography extending from Iraq to the Caspian Region. For this, as Erdoğan underscored, France seems to lift its block on the EU's Chapter 17, which covers economic and monetary policy, and chapters regarding defense and energy will acquire currency in the upcoming days. The messages given by Erdoğan and Hollande are of historic importance as they show us that France will not follow the footsteps of Germany as it did during World War II. I must remind both France and all humanity that World War II invoked one of the greatest sufferings that humanity has ever experienced. Germany's current policy is nothing more than a renewed version of the Third Reich which dragged all humanity into war. We know that Germany is seeking a Fourth Reich (neo-Nazism), but we will not suffer another total war as we have experienced too many so far.