Israeli President Isaac Herzog recently visited Ankara and met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to visit Turkey on March 13. The diplomacy table for the Ukraine war has been set up in the southern city of Antalya, where Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, hosted by Turkey. Erdoğan held a phone call with United States President Joe Biden. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be in Ankara next week to meet with Erdoğan.
Isn't it stunning? While the world has not yet come out of the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic and is still entangled in economic problems, the war in Ukraine once again dragged the international order into hot discussions. The Western bloc led by the United States chose not to confront Russia militarily but instead uses the sanctions card against Russia in a much more severe way.
However, remember that sanctions are like a boomerang. As it upsets the world's economic balance, its impact eventually touches everyone. For example, the U.S. has stopped oil imports from Russia. It causes price thresholds that were last seen years ago to be exceeded in oil markets worldwide. As an alternative solution, Washington had to knock on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's door, whom it has been trying to overthrow for years.
Similar scenarios are being voiced not only for energy but also for food. As the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said, the gates of hell on Earth are about to open.
In this crisis, countries are trying to mitigate the damage by showing their diplomacy skills. Turkey is doing just that, using its unique geopolitical position.
The opposition in Turkey and some foreign commentators have been trying to create the perception that Ankara is becoming increasingly isolated in the world arena. However, both the rapprochement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the increasing diplomatic traffic with Greece and Israel, two countries that Turkey frankly criticizes in the international arena, contradict these comments.
For example, it has been written in the Greek press for a while that Mitsotakis made great efforts to get an appointment with Erdoğan. Undoubtedly, the obvious reason is that Athens, which guards the EU borders and for this purpose pushed the refugees into Turkish territorial waters in the Aegean Sea resulting in the deaths of dozens of them despite the U.N. warnings, would not be able to solve this crisis without Turkey. Especially now that there is a new refugee crisis in Europe due to the Ukraine war, it is an undeniable fact that Turkey is an actor that should definitely be at the table for a humanitarian solution to this issue.
On the other hand, while the world is plunging into an energy crisis, the natural gas "chess game" in the Eastern Mediterranean is heating up. Israel is one of the countries with which Athens cooperates on this chess table. The main purpose of the EastMed project, which will transport Israeli gas to Europe via Greek Cyprus and Greece, is of course to bypass Turkey. However, especially with the U.S. administration's taking a step back in this project, eyes have turned to Ankara again.
It should not be forgotten that the Israeli administration, like Ankara, assumed the role of mediator in the Ukraine crisis. Turkey and Israel are among the rare countries that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in contact with during this process. However, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Turkey's position in the Ukraine war is unique. Turkey is a NATO member country that maintains close relations with Russia and is the only alliance member with Russian S-400 air defense systems.
In addition, the crucial element of Ukraine's resistance against Russia is the Turkish combat drones. Except for French President Emmanuel Macron's unsuccessful mediation attempts, Ankara is perhaps the only capital within the NATO bloc that can help establish a healthy dialogue with Moscow. When all these items are stacked, it makes sense as to why the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers came together in Antalya. Summary of the matter: As the world is being dragged into a crisis, all roads lead to Ankara.
