Turkey has generally had good neighbourly relations with majority of its neighbours, despites disputes with Syria, Iraq, Bulgaria and Greece. However the good news is that for the last 10 years Turkey has started to resolve its differences with its neighbours. The section below is a summary of the state of relations between Turkey and its neighbours:

Iran

Turkey has booming trade relations with Iran. Turkey is also a major destination for Iranian tourists and businessmen. Turkish companies are some of the biggest foreign participants in the Iranian Construction and Telecommunication sector. Turkey in the past has accused Iran of supporting Turkish fundamentalist groups, however such allegations have decreased. Bilateral relations improved markedly since the election of President Khatami in 1994.

Armenia

Although Turkey does recognise the independence of Armenia and has allowed Turkish territory to be used for transfer of humanitarian goods to Armenia , it does not have diplomatic relations with the country. This is because of Turkey's strong cultural and national links with Armenia's neighbour Azerbaijan whose territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is currently being occupied by Armenian forces. According to Turkish foreign policy, Turkey subscribes to the peaceful resolution of this conflict in accordance to the OSCE Minsk Group process. Furthermore the Turkish government is infuriated by Armenian accusations of genocide against Turkey which state that between 1915 – 1918 Ottoman forces massacred over one and half million Armenian citizens. Turkish officials flatly deny this accusation and adopt the policy of “leaving the judgment of history to history itself”.

Georgia

Since Georgia's independence from the USSR, Turkey and Georgia have enjoyed good bilateral political and trade relations. Turkey views Georgia's internal conflict in Abkhazia with concern and as a result Turkey has contributed to the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) with 5 military observers since its deployment in Georgia on October 1994. Furthermore Turkey has supplied humanitarian assistance to civilians on both sides and has acted as a peace broker in the resolution of the conflict by hosting meetings and conferences. The last Turkish effort regarding this matter was a peace conference in Istanbul held in June 1999.

Bulgaria

According to reports in 1989 Turkey nearly went into war against Bulgaria. This was due to Bulgaria's expulsion of thousands of ethnic Turks from its territory. However relations since then have improved markedly owing to change of government in Bulgaria which has adopted very tolerant policies towards the country's ethnic Turks. Since then a number of bilateral agreements have been signed, including "The Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness, Cooperation and Security."  

Greece

Relations between Turkey and Greece have improved markedly since 1999. Prior to that their relationship was marked over a number of territorial disputes regarding sovereignty over a number of small islets and drilling rights in the Mediteranian sea. Furthermore the two countries opposed each other's political and military influence in Cyprus whilst Turkey strongly opposed Greece's recognition and covert assistance to the PKK. However due to a major earthquake in 1999 the two countries started to assist each in rescue efforts and as a result of good will contributions,   both governments started to work on a policy of rapprochement. Since then Greece has become a major backer for Turkey's application to join the EU. Furthermore trade between the two countries is growing owing to a number of bilateral agreements. According to Turkish government sources Turkey's trade with Greece totaled $ 700 million in 1999. A forecast of $ 5 billion USD by 2015 in bilateral trade between the two countries has been produced by chairman of the Turkish-Greek Business Council.

Syria

Syria and Turkey have almost gone to war on two occasions. First in 1957 and the second time in 1996. The disputes between the two countries have been over water, Syria's support of the PKK and territorial dispute over the Hatay region in Turkey which Syria viewed as its own. However since December 2004 relations between the two countries entered a new phase where the territorial dispute has been resolved, Syria has stated that it has stopped assisting the PKK and the two countries are discussing water sharing. Furthermore a free trade zone has been established between the two countries which is expected to increase bilateral trade which in 2004 stood at approximately $1 billion USD a year.

Iraq

Turkey and Saddam's regime in Iraq enjoyed good trade and political relations until the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991. Since then economic relations between the two countries entered a downward spiral due to the economic sanctions imposed against Iraq. Furthermore Iraq was angered by Turkey's allowance of NATO aircraft to use its territory to impose the no-fly zone over the north of the country. However the relations between the two countries have entered a new phase subsequent to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Since then the new Iraqi interim government has co-operated with Turkey over issues such as border control and trade. It is worth noting that Turkey now is one of the crucial gateways for the export of Iraqi oil. Furthermore Iraq views any nationalistic goals of the Kurdish population of northern Iraq with great concern whilst   Turkey is completely against it. This is because the establishment of a independent Turkish state in northern Iraq could also set a precedent for Turkish Kurds who harbour similar ambitions in Turkey. Furthermore the protection of Iraq's Turkman population is of great interest to Turkey due to the commonalities in their national and cultural heritage.   

Turkey has also started to take steps to facilitate the unification of Cyprus. However Turkey's UN backed plan (the Annan Cyprus peace plan) was rejected by the Greek portion of the islands.

Turkey has recently started to act as a mediator in the Israeli – Syrian dispute over the Golan heights. Turkey's good offices with Jerusalem and its improving relations with Syria will enable Ankara to play a more effective role as a peace maker between Israel and Syria. Furthermore Ankara's good relations with the PLO and the signing of a free trade agreement between the two in July 2004 will make Turkey a powerful candidate to act as a mediator in the resolution of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict.  

By: Meir Javedanfar- www.meepas.com

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