Where is Turkey from your perspective?

Nasuhi GÜNGÖR You do not build a foreign policy on personal choice, sudden expectations or anger but on history, experience, circumstances, political and economic stability, balance of power and a future perspective of that country. The fact that Turkey has built a foreign policy with a look transcending its political borders together with its policy moves and aspiration to be a main player are frequently debated issues. We quite often tend to forget what Turkey implies: a country with a historical depth, a certain civilisation perspective and plans for future. And this is exactly why we try to interpret the incidents trapped in today's agenda. Having self-confidence, "nafs" with its older expression, and transforming this self-confidence into action with the help of experience and knowledge is surely a challenging endeavor which takes time. You should set off with patience, courage, foresight, most importantly with determination and you should not be discouraged by the obstacles you encounter during the journey; on the contrary, you should dust yourself off and ask yourself frequently "where we are heading to?" *** This is the third term of AK Party in power and particularly since the second term, Turkey has taken bold steps in foreign policy and made unexpected moves. See Iraq where Turkey is forging alliances, signing contracts for huge projects like pipelines, and beyond all that, Turkey holds a perception of common fate that is replacing the former dismissive attitude towards the Kurdish population in Northern Iraq. Now, I can hear some voices saying "What about Syria?" What I think really matters about the debates on Syria is that Ankara did not remain indifferent to the plans on Syria and showed the courage to devise a policy accordingly. Those who tell Turkey, "What are you doing in the Middle East? Stay at home; shut your door and windows. Why would you care about the refugees, the bloodshed?" either have no idea how grave those words are or are speaking on behalf of big brothers. No matter what they say, Turkey is the new home of power, progress, ambition and particularly of peace on these lands.