If the Japanese government is determined to become more visible in global politics, it should make the most of opportunities such as the Syrian crisis to take the first step in convincing the international community
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Criticizing Turkey has been a popular sport in Western capitals. It would appear that they will continue talking for some time. In April, their main focus will be charges of Armenian genocide, to which Turkey must respond with rational policies able to cut through the noise.
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The opening remarks of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who took over the term presidency of the organization, during the summit depicted the expectations of the OIC. His remarks were full of new suggestions to turn the OIC into a genuine association.
With 57 member states, the OIC, which is the second largest international organization, is extremely difficult to govern with diverse national interests and alliances
The ability of Islamic countries to come together and put forward a common vision in the face of regional and global problems, and for them to develop appropriate political solutions for this vision, is an important opportunity for global peace.
Since Erdoğan ended the old habit of the pro-West intelligentsia in Turkey, he has been portrayed as a sultan, and Turkey as an authoritarian state
The U.S. must give up its 'saving the day-policy' and realize the long-term importance of engaging in Turkey's fight against the PKK's Syrian branch PYD
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The two countries may find some areas in which to work together in the changing region. There are already many speculations about the possible positioning of this normalization in the changing balance of power in the Middle East and shifting alliances.
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Calling for renewed talks may be tempting, but it has little meaning until Turkey removes PKK militants from the southeast and the international community draws up a plan to facilitate political transition in Syria
Without much assistance from the international community the opposition forces lost a lot of ground to DAESH. Thus the opposition was never considered a viable option in the fight against DAESH or the regime.
The PKK is an ultra-pragmatist terror organization that can use even the peace rhetoric to fool communities.
The West has a new approach toward Turkey. On issues like terrorism and the refugee crisis, in which Western nations have a vested interest, they engage in constructive dialogue with the government. Just in case negotiations don't go as planned, they threaten to complain about Turkey's purported slide into authoritarianism and the decline in press freedom.
The deepening crisis in the Middle East increases the value of Turkey's friendship, which the United States and others are trying to win back. In turn, Turkey cares very little about being liked. The country's leaders are completely focused on national interests.
The most important message that Turkey gave on various occasions was the danger of inconsistency in the war against terrorism. A second security issue that Turkey raised last week pertained to the human security dimension of international security.
As the counterterror fight is the first priority for Turkey, the U.S. authorities' tangible solution offered to Erdoğan can mark a good start in putting bilateral relations back on track.
Turkey's ascendancy as a middle power and regional play-maker in the Middle East went pretty well up until 2011 but has faced multifaceted difficulties and challenges afterward, especially in the wake of the escalation of the Syrian civil war.
Erdoğan is expending great effort to further develop Turkish-U.S. political relations and strengthen economic relations between the two countries.
Erdoğan adopted a reconciliatory tone in Washington to convey the message that he was interested in addressing the pressing problems in Turkish-U.S. relations.
The anti-DAESH campaign conducted by the global community is far from well-coordination and only serves the terror organization's interests
Although both are NATO members in the international coalition against DAESH, the U.S.'s insistence on supporting the PYD and YPG, which Ankara deems terror organizations, instead of Turkey, harms the trust between the two countries
The scandal was not just a failure of European intelligence services either, as it relates to a broader lack of coherent counterterrorism policy across the continent, which needs to be addressed by taking European-wide security cooperation to the next level.