“With patience and Prayers we will overcome this time,” said President Erdogan. Shortly before, his Finance Minister had tried to appease the minds. An injection of Liquidity equivalent to nearly tens of billions of dollars would prevent the worst, so Berat Albayrak, the son-in-law of the President. “The economic growth of Turkey will exceed the first quarter expectations,” the Minister said full of Confidence.
Turkey is best prepared on the Coronavirus – she says
in mid-March. Rather unlikely that the politicians would speak today in a similar optimistic. The pandemic has already reached Turkey and in the handle. In the face of soaring Numbers of infections and deaths, the government has brought the public life largely to a standstill. While pessimists warn of a “new Italy”, painted Pro-government media and this set the tone to a rosy picture.
is not different overlooked occasions arrogance in the comments: Turkey was better prepared for the pandemic than most of the other States, as a recurring motif. “If we compare Turkey with Europe, we see that Europe has failed in the fight against the Corona Virus.” It is the case of the West is difficult, the success of the Turkey to recognise it, says Ali Cinar of the Turkish Heritage Organization. Ismail Caglar from the Pro-government Think Tank SETA goes a step further: He sees the Turkey because of their “better preparation” to the crisis as the “ascending star in the post-Corona-the world order”.
About the guest author
Dr. Ronald Meinardus headed the office of the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for freedom in Istanbul. Prior to that, he was head of the regional office for South Asia of the Foundation. Twitter: @Meinardus
The Corona-crisis has long been the venue of an international political profiling. In the ideologically-framed competition of the systems, also, Ankara wants to be involved: “We are not the richest country in the world, but is probably the most generous,” says foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Ankara had provided medical support to 17 help-seeking countries, according to the Minister, without mentioning the recipient by name. The Turkish press reports, meanwhile, about the supply of medical equipment to the particularly hard-hit by the Corona pandemic affected the neighboring country of Iran.
The Virus has also in Turkey, the political agenda on the head. What dominated yesterday’s headlines, today is, at best, of secondary importance. This also applies to the foreign policy and the crisis, in which Ankara is involved. The priority of the civil war in Syria, the kick in this month, in its tenth year, the escalation on the Turkish-Greek border, and everything on top of the issue of refugees.
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“Unheard Pleas”
With the Opening of the border to Greece, President erdoğan responded by the end of February on developments in the North-West of Syria. It is a political chain reaction. In the case of an attack by Syrian government took a number of Turkish soldiers came troops killed. On the Syrian field of battle the Turkish army was ready to counter-strikes against the Assad army. Diplomatically informed Ankara, the focus on the EU and NATO. Of the Western Alliance, Turkey has demanded political support for the Plan, in the North of Syria a “safety zone” set up. The EU called on Erdogan to meet the Turkish point of view, non-compliance with agreements from the refugee deal from 2016 finally. dpa/Juma Muhammad/image live via ZUMA Wire/Reuters A convoy of Turkish military moves on the border crossing of Bab al-Hawa, in the North of Syria’s Idlib. Turkey since the armistice of military reinforcements sent into the Zone.
“We can’t protect the borders of NATO and of Europe, no longer alone,” wrote foreign Minister Cavusoglu in the economic newspaper “Financial Times”. “Our unheard calls for the EU to take refugees seriously and to respect the agreement of 2016, have reached in the Wake of the recent expulsion in Idlib, the boiling point“, said the Minister.
Officially, Turkey has not been terminated by the refugee Convention of 2016. With the Opening of the borders with Greece, Ankara has given to understand, however, that it does not feel no longer bound to the Deal. “We can’t stay the fugitives force for this purpose”, says the Turkish foreign Minister, to the opening of the border. This is a diplomatic Version of the operation that has ruled until the outbreak of the Corona pandemic in Europe’s headlines.
BND confirmed: Ankara has refugees as a means of pressure against the EU used to know
From different sources, we learned that Turkish authorities controlled the crowds to the Turkish-Greek border, the violence deliberately provoked. In Greece, the government and the media have spread this presumption from the beginning. The Thesis, Ankara, have exploited the refugees politically and diplomatically as a “weapon” used to put the European Union under pressure, has confirmed the Federal intelligence service (BND) now, according to a report by the news magazine “mirror”. Berlin’s foreign intelligence service is, therefore, so is the magazine, of a participation of Turkish forces in the operations.
Reuters/Giannis Papa Nikos/AP/Reuters Greek riot police at the Greek-Turkish border in the Evros Region, in plumes of tear gas that was fired from the Turkish side of the border. Thousands of refugees in the Region are hoping to enter the EU.
Official Turkish sources report, since the beginning of the opening of the border and almost 150 000 refugees have left the Turkey in the direction of Greece. At the same place, there is talk of Greek border guards had killed three fugitives and more than 200 injured. These had been brought for treatment in Turkish hospitals.
According to an independent Turkish media report, Ankara, already on the 17. March begun to evacuate the border zone. On the following day President Erdogan had agreed to meet with German Chancellor Merkel and French President Macron a summit, that took place because of the circumstances, as a Video-conference instead. It was, Essentially, the future of the override refugee Convention. One might suspect that Erdogan might have as it were brought as a sign of good faith to a de-escalation on the border. Whether between the back row of Ankara and the summit there is a connection, is not known.
evacuation due to Corona-crisis
at the end of last week, was announced by the Turkish Ministry of the interior of the evacuation of the shelters on the border officially. “Turkey has evacuated to 5,800 refugees from the border area after Greece,” reported the daily newspaper “Daily Sabah” on September 27. March in breaking news. The action was “part of the Corona-Virus measures,” according to the paper.
not to mention The relations of Turkey to the European Union from the Turkish-Greek relationship as a whole – have taken in the Wake of the incidents on the border damage. Ankara’s calculus, to move by the pressure at the external border of Brussels to the Contrary in terms of the refugee Convention and in the Idlib question is not risen. On the contrary, In the community, Erdogan has pace to upset, Yes hardening of the led. Do not let yourself be blackmailed, either similar to a variously intoned reaction is. Reuters/Dario Pignatelli/EU Council/dpa Ursula von der Leyen (l-r) and Charles Michel speak to Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mevlut Cavusoglu, in the framework of the meeting of the heads of state and government of the EU and Turkey.
The Turkish government had hoped that at the summit of the EU heads of state and government on the 26. In March, the foundations of future cooperation in the field of refugees and are. It did not come. At the virtual Meeting of the heads of government it was almost exclusively the Corona of a pandemic and the European action measures.
In the last point of the Declaration of intent to become a note on the Situation appears to be limits to the European foreign. The member States Express their “concern about the situation at the Greek-Turkish border” and reaffirm their “full solidarity with Greece”.
Rarely, Ankara diplomatically in Europe, was as isolated as it is today. The new priorities in the Wake of the escalating Corona-crisis will continue to change so soon, there was nothing.
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