FT’nin bugünkü nüshasında Turkey?s Ottoman mission başlıklı manidar bir yorum yazısı çıktı. AB’ni başına Belçika’lı Van Rompuy’un gelmesi haberinin hemen ardından yayımlanan makalede dikkatimi çeken bölümlerin yanısıra bir de çok basit bir grafik vardı:

Krizden sonra Türkiye'nin AB ve orta doğu ticaretindeki değişim

Dikkatimi çeken kısımları da buraya not edeyim:

“Turkey has long mattered ? as Nato ally, friend of Israel, EU applicant and energy route to the west. But its growing economic strength and diplomatic reach give it influence over some of the toughest issues facing Washington and other capitals: from frozen conflicts in the Caucasus to Iran?s nuclear ambitions to the threat of disintegration in Iraq. ?We are neither surprised by nor disturbed by an activist Turkish agenda in the Middle East,? Philip Gordon, assistant secretary at the US state department, said in Ankara this month.

Yet the speed and scope of Turkey?s diplomatic endeavours have left both Turkish and western observers wondering whether it can juggle all its new interests. In a month of frenetic activity, Mr Davutoglu has staged a show of friendship with Syria, ending visa restrictions on a border once patrolled by Turkish tanks; paid a high-profile visit to Iraq?s Kurdistan region, long shunned as a threat to Turkish unity; and signed a landmark deal to mend relations with Armenia. ?Today we, children of the Ottomans, are here to show interest in the development of Mosul just as our ancestors showed centuries ago,? Zafer Caglayan, trade minister, said as he opened a consulate in the northern Iraqi city last month. Turkish diplomats claim credit, in the last year alone, for mediating between Israel and Syria, hosting talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and liaising with Sunni militants in Iraq.

But Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a prime minister who scorns diplomatic niceties, has shown the potential for new friendships to damage old ones.”

Ve de

“Ankara?s focus, however, is on grander projects than box-ticking compliance with European legislation. A lack of enthusiasm for Herman van Rompuy?s appointment last week as president of the European Council reflects not just worries over his past opposition to Turkey?s candidacy but a preference for a heavyweight leader who would want Europe to play a bigger part on the world stage.

Ibrahim Kalin, Mr Erdogan?s chief foreign policy adviser, argues that Turkish activism is not a reaction to disappointments in the EU but simply ?a fully rational attempt to seize new spaces of opportunity? ? including the EU?s virtual absence from geopolitics.”

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