President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Tashkent, Uzbekistan, for the 16th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit. Besides attending ECO’s General Assembly meeting, he held meetings with the host, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and President Ersin Tatar of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Erdoğan, who attended the 10th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) the previous week, focused on boosting trade among ECO members and promoting a united stance against the massacre in Gaza. Let us recall that Erdoğan’s 2023 election manifesto identified strengthening ongoing cooperation with other countries in Türkiye's neighborhood, and supporting regional organizations as a priority to promote security, stability and prosperity. That the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reignited shortly after the war in Ukraine certainly attested to the accuracy and certainty of that objective. Türkiye links integration within international organizations, of which it is a member, to the mutual acknowledgment of interests and the development of economic relations. That is why Erdoğan noted that the trade volume among the ECO states, whose collective income amounts to $1.5 trillion, was just $85 billion — which he described as “unworthy of us.” He also called the member states to implement the ECO trade agreement, pending for two decades.

Western hypocrisy

As the only world leader to hold a pro-Palestinian event, President Erdoğan made important remarks on Gaza at the ECO summit. Among other things, the Turkish president criticized world leaders, who marched together to condemn the killing of 25 people in the Charlie Hebdo attack, for keeping silent in the face of 11,000 Palestinian deaths. Highlighting the West’s hypocritical stance on values, including human rights, Erdoğan did not forget to issue a call to Muslim leaders: “If we cannot speak up today as Muslims, when shall we raise our voices again?” There is little doubt that the Turkish leader will reiterate his call on the Muslim world to “mount pressure on Israel by assuming a common stance” at the extraordinary summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this weekend. In response to the situation in Gaza, Türkiye has been trying to persuade the international community to take concrete steps toward an immediate ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the two-state solution. At the Riyadh Summit, the OIC’s leading members could agree on a common policy proposal on Gaza to mount pressure on the United States and the Western nations. An important question is whether the United States has begun to revisit its policy. The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu faces an ever-stronger reaction from the world over the massacre in Gaza. People around the world, from Jakarta to Washington, condemn the oppression of the Palestinians. Indeed, the U.S., which even opposed a ceasefire, found itself completely isolated during a vote at the U.N. General Assembly. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ description of Gaza as a graveyard for children, too, highlighted the shameful attitude of the Western world. The Biden administration, which faces no smaller backlash than Israel itself, was ultimately compelled to announce that it did not see eye to eye with Israel regarding the occupation of Gaza and the expulsion of Palestinians. In truth, the Biden administration has been paying the price for having failed to promote peace between Israel and Palestine in the first place. At the same time, their misplaced faith in Benjamin Netanyahu’s ability to keep the situation under control came with a heavy price tag.

A policy shift in the U.S.?

It remains to be seen whether Washington’s most recent statements will actually amount to a policy shift and continue over the next days and weeks. It was nonetheless noteworthy that those statements were issued shortly after Netanyahu pledged to provide security in Gaza indefinitely and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s tour of the region – and especially his meeting with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The Turkish foreign minister reportedly warned his counterpart about the massive backlash against the United States due to the perception that the country agrees with Israel across the board. Encouraging Muslim and regional powers to adopt a common position, Türkiye remains one of the most relevant players in efforts to end the Gaza crisis and promote peace between Israel and Palestine. The country has been one of the most vocal critics of the current U.S. and Israeli policy, yet it actively engages in diplomacy and inches toward becoming a guarantor for the Palestinians. The U.S. would be serving its own interests by endorsing the Turkish proposals regarding the resolution of the crisis in Gaza. Otherwise, the growing anti-Israel sentiment worldwide shall put the U.S. and the West in an irreversibly problematic situation. [Daily Sabah, November 11, 2023]