Turkish presidential aide urges power balance in region

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent official tour to three key Gulf countries came at a critical juncture in the region where there is an urgent need to establish a power equilibrium to avoid new conflicts, Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Saturday.

In his column for the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah, Kalin said: "The rise of violent extremism in the form of al-Qaeda and Daesh on the one hand, and the deepening sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims on the other, require a long-term vision and wise political leadership.

“Muslims cannot let violent extremism and sectarianism define their faith and destroy their future."

He said strengthening of economic relations and counterterrorism efforts as well as mutual collaboration among the regional countries is an absolute must in order to provide permanent peace and stability in the Gulf and Middle East regions.

"The current global disorder and regional rivalry for power has taken its toll on the political architecture and ordinary citizens of the Middle East and the larger Muslim world.

“There is an urgent need to establish power equilibrium to address the pressing security and economic challenges and avoid new conflicts. This can happen only when the key stakeholders initiate a new period of intra-regional solidarity and claim their regional ownership."

Kalin said regional ownership calls for dealing with challenges of the Middle East and the Muslim world through strengthened dialogue in the fields of security and economic cooperation.

"This does not mean turning our back on the rest of the world. No form of 'third worldism' and turning inside would work in the increasingly sophisticated and multi-polar world in which we live.

“To the contrary, regional ownership encourages openness to the world, but this can generate a win-win situation only when regional problems are no longer there for others to manipulate to their advantage," he wrote.

Kalin added Turkey pursues a policy of mutual empowerment with its neighbors and the larger Muslim world and it seeks regional solutions to regional problems.

"Ending violent extremism and sectarian conflict is possible only when we realize that power equilibrium is in the interest of all parties. As we have seen in recent conflicts, seeking undue influence through proxies in other countries hurts everyone. No one can claim victory in self-defeating conflicts," he said.

The presidential aide also said Turkey's current trade volume with the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) is a little over $16 billion and given the economic potential it is not sufficient.

"Talks concerning a free trade agreement between Turkey and the GCC are underway and can be signed this year under the Bahraini term presidency," Kalin said.

He added the approach is being reciprocated by the GCC countries, which understands Turkey's security concerns over the PKK terror group and Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and have declared both as terrorist organizations.

FETO, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, is believed to have organized July 2016's defeated military takeover in Turkey, which left at least 248 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

"Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, in particular, have taken a number of steps to stop the activities of FETO institutions and individuals in their countries. Fighting Daesh and other terrorist organizations ideologically and militarily is also a common goal shared by all parties," Kalin wrote.

He said joint efforts to prevent the coupling of Islam with violence and terrorism by extremists in the Muslim world and Western countries are also important.

"Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are working closely to resolve the conflict in Syria and help establish peace and security in Iraq," Kalin added.