G-20, EU & Hamas messages from the UK

Busy touring Turkey for local elections, I wonder whether Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who claims to be the "voice of the quiet masses," is aware of the fact that he is scheduled to leave for London in couple of weeks. A newspaper has recently run a photograph showing him looking at the ceiling during the G-20 summit last November, together with a comment complaining of his indifference to the economic crisis and a note that he went to the Washington summit unprepared.

Maybe one should not be so unfair to the prime minister. Apparently most of the participants went to the summit unprepared as the first meeting after the first wave of global economic meltdown, gathering the leaders of the world’s most developed 20 countries has ended without concrete results.

In order to avoid the same outcome the British Government has been pushing the participating countries to come prepared this time.

As far as Turkey is concerned, it looks like the British are concerned that, preoccupied with the local elections, the Turkish government might not grasp the importance of the summit. Turkish Treasury officials have been actively participating in the working groups that have been formed following the Washington summit. But at the end of the day the governments are decisive on the outcomes.

The representative power of Turkey

Just as the president of Tanzania has pointed out, the British government seems to be aware of the representative power of Turkey. "Central Asia, the Middle East and most of Africa are not represented," said Claire Phillpotts of the British Embassy recently while briefing a group of journalist on G-20 summit.

I doubt whether the Turkish prime minister is as aware as the British government of Turkey’s representative power. I wonder whether the Turkish government, which is claiming to be a regional leader and aspiring to be a global actor, has sent envoys to those countries in its environment to find out about their views on the global economic situation? When it comes to rhetoric, there is plenty of it. But one cannot be a regional power by just rhetoric.

I don’t know if we should say, "Thank God for the British," because they have taken the initiative to organize a conference in Turkey to raise the awareness of the government. The conference will be open to academics, journalists and nongovernmental organizations like, The Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessman’s association, and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey. Co-hosted by the Global Political Trends of the Kültür University in Istanbul, the conference will take place in Istanbul on March 14. One would wish that such an exercise came from the Turks rather than the Brits.

Obviously this is not the only issue; the British government has taken initiative on issues of mutual concern. British diplomacy is in close contact with the Turkish side and one of the most important messages delivered to Ankara lately has been on the reform process. As the European Union prepares to review the accession process due to the Cyprus problem, the British officials have been emphasizing the need to revive the reform process. "If you revive the reform process it will be easier for Turkey’s friends to help overcome the Cyprus obstacles," British diplomats have been telling the Turkish side. In relation to the EU, the British side has also told the Turkish side that Prime Minister Erdoğan’s statement that if the talks on the energy chapter are not opened, Turkey will review its position on the Nabucco project, has not been constructive. "This will backfire with the EU capitals," said British Foreign Secretary to Ali Babacan when the two met last month in Munich. David Miliband also asked Babacan to tell Hamas to take a more flexible attitude on the issue of national unity. According to Miliband, Hamas should stop insisting to ask for the post of prime minister and give its consent for a technocrat government. Miliband said this with the wish that it will be conveyed to Hamas by Turkey.