ORSAM & GMF “Syria & Iraq from American and Turkish Perspectives”, Washington Conference

ORSAM (Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies) and GMF (The German Marshall Fund of United States) held a joint conference entitled, “Syria and Iraq from American and Turkish Perspectives”, first time in Washington between April 11-12, 2013. The two-day conference was held in GMF's building in Washington. The sessions within the scope of the conference are listed as follows: difficulties and tendencies in Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal, scenarios regarding Syria's future, the impacts on the region and the transatlantic region, the energy cooperation between Turkey and Iraq, Discrimination in Iraq and Syria, and Turkey-U.S.; Common Grounds, Points of Disagreement, and Cooperation Fields. In the conference which started with the opening speech of ORSAM Director Hasan Kanbolat, the other participants from Turkey, U.S., GMF and other organizations who took part in the conference with their presentations are as follows: Retired Ambassador Murat Özçelik, Retired Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Retired Ambassador James Jeffrey, GMF Ankara Director Özgür Ünlühisarcıklı, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özlem Tür from METU – Department of International Relations, Prof. Alon Ben Meir from New York University, ORSAM Middle East Specialist Oytun Orhan, BOTAŞ – BTC & NABUCCO Coordinator Osman Göksel, GMF European Office Director Mark Fischer, GMF Transatlantic Specialist Hassan Mneimneh, GMF Transatlantic Specialist Emiliano Alessandri. During the conference, the subjects such as; the policies of Turkey – U.S. relations under current circumstances of the Middle East, their new initiatives, interactions, the influence of both countries on the developments in Iraq and Syria, and the dynamics in their foreign policies, the role of regional and external actors in the Middle East within the process, energy policies and security in the region were assessed in parallel with the countries' approaches.                             

At the end of the conference, it was concluded that in the Middle East, where uncertainty is the biggest problem, Turkey's foreign policy is pursued with fragile balances due to the post – March 2011 events in Syria and Iraq's current situation. The current situation and uncertain future of Syria directly affects bordering countries Turkey and Iraq.         

It is afraid that things will get more complicated in Iraq in the upcoming days. Iraq stands at an extremely fragile position, and it has gotten even more fragile with the Arab Spring. Within this framework, the Turkey-U.S. relations play a crucial role and also it is of great importance for the two countries to cooperate, even if they do not stand on the same point.           

The most delicate subject for the U.S. is the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). While Turkey's strategic relationship with Kurds are important in terms of the stability and energy security of the region, other issues are PKK and terrorism.    

The Sunni-Kurdish cooperation in Iraq would balance the number of Shiites, which are more in number. The cooperation between Sunnis and Kurds is not an easy process. Because Sunnis are Arab nationalists and besides the process is recommended to progress slowly. The relations will reinforce the relations as a result of the cooperation, and both groups will use each other in line with their interests against Maliki.       

That the uprisings in Syria do not contain religious elements, that the solution should be gathering under a national umbrella, and the Christians and Muslims in Lebanon can live together in harmony were given as examples on this subject. The points of agreement and disagreement in Syria are very important.    

There are three points regarding the Arab Spring. These points are respectively as follows: The civil war (which couldn't be prevented), external intervention, sectarian issues. (The Muslim Brotherhood triggered this process)

Syria is in the middle of these two powers; between Sunnis and Shiites in sectarian terms, and between East – West (Russia-Iran and U.S.) in regional terms. 

Turkey is the most concerned country about Syria. The question that what will Turkey do in line with its interests in the upcoming days will be brought forward.  

Three issues which are the main reasons of the problem in relations between Turkey and Israel are: the embargo, Gaza and Palestine issues. Netanyahu's apology to Turkey regarding the recent bilateral relations between the two countries was well-timed, and this process was also backed by the U.S.   

Both the U.S. and Turkey pursue a classical foreign policy. The Middle East, Balkans, Caucasus are of importance for the interests of both countries in terms of both security and economy. Both countries follow an active policy in those regions.   

There are also differences between the U.S. and Turkey. For instance; Turkey buys oil and natural gas from the Middle Eastern countries (dependent approximately by 80%), thus it is dependent on the region; whereas the U.S. is not dependent on the region in oil and natural gas.  

The world's energy need is met largely by raw oil. Thus, Iraqi oil resources are of importance. It is important for the international companies to have access to Iraqi oil, and to safely transfer it.   

The natural gas potential is quite high in North Iraq, and it holds 1/3 of the whole country's natural gas reserve. It is necessary to prepare a new legal infrastructure to improve gas management in Iraq. The Iraqi natural gas could be a significant alternative for Turkey, which buys natural gas from Russia to a great extent.