Turkey was one of the first countries to welcome the reconciliation between two Gulf monarchies
Asad Mirza
THE recent rapprochement between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and other GCC members may have a positive fallout on the regional relations and balance of power.
With Saudi Arabia and Qatar signing a friendly bond that ended the three-year-long economic blockade, which Riyadh had imposed on its tiny Gulf neighbour, regional observers see it as a springboard for achieving a greater regional partnership in which other regional players could be brought in to stabilise the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the two most influential members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), severed ties with Qatar in mid-2017, alleging that Doha supported terrorism, maintained ties with Iran, permitted Turkey to establish a military base on its soil, supported the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt and more. However, the latest development may augur well for the regional and pan-Arab relationships.
Turkey’s relationship with Arab states and in particular with Saudi Arabia has always remained thorny and knotty, with both sides trying to outdo each other and don the mantle of leading the Islamic world. Nevertheless, Turkey was one of the first countries to welcome the reconciliation between Qatar and Saudi Arabia on January 4.
The Turkish foreign ministry, in a written statement welcomed the reopening of land, air and sea borders between the two countries, expressing hopes of a comprehensive and lasting solution and that the GCC would lift all other sanctions against the Qatari people as soon as possible.
Turkey conveyed a more important message in the last sentence: “Being a strategic partner of the GCC and attaching great importance to the security and stability of the Gulf region, Turkey will continue to support all efforts in this direction.”
The special relationship between Turkey and Qatar and the former’s troubled relationship with the UAE and Saudi Arabia may change the dynamics for Turkey. Turkish observers believe that the resolution of the problems between Qatar and the GCC will have a positive impact on Turkey’s dialogue with the UAE and Saudi Arabia. However, Turkey may adopt a different approach dealing with the two.
Ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia nosedived after the brutal slaying of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of a death squad, allegedly sent by Saudi Arabia, in its consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
However, in recent months, both sides have warmed-up to each other. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on the phone with King Salman on the occasion of the G20 Summit last November, while the two countries’ foreign ministers held in-person meetings on the sidelines of international summits.
On the other hand, Turkish-UAE relations are more complicated, and even Turks are flummoxed by this hostile attitude. As such it seems that the Turkish and UAE relations might not be resolved in the immediate future. At a press conference last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu described the UAE’s stance toward Turkey as “unfriendly” and he said he did not know why the country was pursuing such an anti-Turkey policy.
The ties between the two countries deteriorated after the coup d’état in Egypt that practically killed the Arab Spring. Abu Dhabi accuses Ankara of supporting the Brotherhood although Turkey says it does not differentiate between the Brotherhood-led governments and others. This spat has had repercussions on Turkish relations with other countries in the region too, from Syria to Libya and from Yemen to Sudan and Somalia.
Impact on Libyan conflict
The Qatar-Saudi spat also cast its shadow on several regional and international issues, including the conflict in Libya. Libya continues to be one of the top conflict zones in the region. Saudi Arabia has chosen to side with warlord Khalifa Haftar, whereas Qatar supports Haftar’s rival, the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. This had caused friction between the two Gulf monarchies.
Ankara-based political analyst Dr Ali Bakeer, appearing on TRT World, cautioned that one should avoid drawing any hasty conclusions on the future of the Libyan conflict in the light of the Qatar-Saudi rapprochement. As per him, neither country is a main player in the Libyan conflict.
Commenting on the regional repercussions of the accord, Dr Bakeer further opined that better Saudi-Qatari relations would mean better Saudi-Turkish relations. These three countries have the potential to tilt the regional balance towards them and if they are able to bring in Egypt, too, this can help in minimising other regional conflicts.
Dr Guma Al Gamaty, a Libyan academic and politician who heads the Taghyeer Political Party in Libya, opined on TRT World that in light of the rapprochement, he expects “less antagonism” from the GCC towards the internationally recognised GNA in Libya. According to Gamaty, Saudi and its GCC allies had grown wary of the GNA because it believed Qatar was backing it along with Turkey.
Khaled Al Mishri, the head of Libya’s High Council of State, welcomed the Doha-Riyadh patch up, saying a comprehensive Gulf reconciliation may contribute to the accomplishment of United Nations’ efforts to reach a political solution to the Libyan crisis.
Overall, this new development in the Gulf region could also have a positive impact on Turkey’s ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as the wider GCC members, depending on mutual willingness. Besides, the new American administration will be very vigilant in its approach towards the Middle East and the Gulf as it prioritises Iran, and in initial days may focus more on Iran as compared to other Arab states, which it sees as more amenable to its new policies.
Indications in this regard have already been shown by the Saudi leadership and other Arab states may follow suit, once incoming US President Joe Biden is firmly in the saddle. — IANS
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Asad Mirza is a senior journalist and commentator based in New Delhi. He writes on Muslims, educational, international affairs, interfaith and current affairs. Views expressed here are personal. He can be reached at [email protected]
