Turkey destroyed all the power structurings in the East Mediterranean. It weakened the alliances established against it in the region. It alienated France within the European Union. It left Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCASC) helpless.
It used its military deterrence effectively. It never compromised its geopolitical determination. It did not fear the fronts established against it. It soldiered on.
Now, it is adopting the same determination in its diplomatic skills. We saw through Turkey’s presence and stance that the EU was never really united, that it was divided, and that every country turned towards its own national policies.
The “Turkey stance” also brought to light the signs of the EU’s division.
Those who are saying “Turkey is alone” need only review all that has happened since the East Mediterranean crisis broke out.
Our discussion concerning Turkey should be its “power rise,” not “isolation.” Taking this into consideration, we can ascertain who is in fact alone and will be alone in both the Mediterranean and the whole region.
This is the “Turkey axis” in the country and in the region, and the “Turkey stance” in the world. The world will more clearly sense these two realities in the upcoming years.
Turkey is clashing with the world’s giants. It is sizing them up, pushing them, forming an area of maneuver for its own presence and, in certain areas, it is benching the global power domain’s central powers and settling in itself.
This is the case, because Turkey itself is also becoming a giant!
Countries that emerged victorious at the end of the two great wars, that shaped the global order unilaterally, designed its economy and political power map, are trying in great surprise to digest Turkey’s rise, boldness and coerciveness.
Turkey’s stance and presence is a clever rise that was meticulously planned, contains in-depth experience, and is equipped with extremely strong claims.
A very careful eye will see that no step is made in vain, preparations have finely planned, that the next few steps have been calculated in advance, and that even the crises caused by these outbursts have been calculated as gains.
Similar to empowerment through peace and cooperation, crises and conflicts empower states as well. Every crisis to date has boosted Turkey’s power and rendered it a fiercer force of nature.
This being the case, the Atlantic world, particularly the West, became greatly perturbed by their “former” ally coming to the fore so strongly.
The U.S. and Europe’s central countries, countries that once-upon-a-time used to adjust Turkey’s settings, now feel obliged to make peace with it. The era of threats and blackmails is over. They saw once again and most recently in the East Mediterranean that they cannot achieve anything through such attempts.
As a matter of fact, they were caught unprepared. This was beyond what they had expected. They did not predict such a determined political stance and action. They were confident that they would once more be able to stop Turkey using the methods they applied throughout the 20th century. Seeing their failure today caused a them “Turkey shock.”
Turkey, the country they refused to leave to its own devices, even in Anatolia until only recently, the country they targeted with threats and blackmail at every chance, the country they drove into chaos with terrorism and economic threats, the country they pushed through internal political instabilities, the country whose areas of weakness they stirred and thus doomed to fear, now has a say in all world-scale events.
In fact, this rise gained so much momentum after the July 15 coup attempt that the Western world is now scratching their heads.
They never expected such a power rise. So far, no country in today’s world was able to achieve such a determined and comprehensive rise equipped with these strong claims in such a short period of time. The world was not used to this.
Nowadays, everybody is meeting with or trying to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regarding the East Mediterranean crisis. Turkey is now using its diplomatic deterrence. In fact, it is further reinforcing its determination. It is maturing the disputes in the Aegean in order for them to be brought to the negotiation table.
France, Greece, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Israel, or any other country; none of them are in a position to risk going to war with Turkey in the Mediterranean or in the Aegean.
The world is undergoing a change that poses a threat to the existence of states, a change unlike anything we have witnessed so far. Supra-national states have already fallen apart. The central power domains in numerous countries are collapsing. The masses are marching towards a new world, and many countries are not yet ready for this.
Turkey is one of the few countries that have been able to prepare for such a dilemma. It is also a country that is capable of ascertaining which countries can risk certain crises.
We have just begun. Following the diplomacy period, there are new surprises in store for us in the East Mediterranean and the Aegean. This is not about the natural gas and oil discovered in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean alone.
Will the regional countries that are outside the Turkey axis – especially the countries that are driven to the front against this axis – be able to endure major damages?
