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US experts: â€œTurkey gets closer to Europe and Azerbaijan can benefit from thatâ€

03 November 2010 10:20 (UTC +04:00)

On November 2 SETA Foundation organized a panel "Has Turkey ’Lost’ Europe? The Brussels-Ankara Relationship after Five Years of Accession Negotiations", in Washington DC. The panel featured Stephen Larrabee (RAND Corporation), Juliette Tolay-Sargnon (University of Delaware, Transatlantic Academy), and Nuh Yilmaz (SETA Foundation).

SETA Foundationâ€™s expert Kadir Ustun said that while leaders in France, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands seem opposed to Turkey’s membership, the Turks seem increasingly skeptic of the membership prospects. Ustun mentioned President Obama who said that if Turkish people "do not feel part of the European family, then, obviously they are going to look elsewhere for alliances and affiliations."

Juliette Tolay-Sargnon emphasized the importance of balancing the discussion by flipping the question, "who lost Turkey?" Such questions are often posed from the perspective that considers Turkey as an object. As a motivating factor for such questions, Tolay cited the recent political developments, such as the flotilla crisis.

Ms. Tolay emphasized the mutual interests and needs of the EU and Turkey for one another. Turkey’s foreign policy should be seen complementary to the EU. Turkey’s image in the Middle East and South Caucasus, specially, in Azerbaijan, is helpful for the EU. At the same time, Turkey needs Europe for its stability and its positive image in the Caucasus and Middle East is partly due to Turkey’s unique relationship with Europe.

Stephen Larrabee noted the importance of public opinion on both sides. He pointed out that even in Germany, there was no unity of opinion with respect to Turkey’s EU membership. The analyst said that majority of EU countries still support Turkey’s membership if it meets the criteria.

Mr. Larrabee mentioned that the US would like to see Turkey "strongly anchored in the West". Yet, the US considers Turkey a "bridge to Muslim world."