On Aug. 21, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu gave a TV interview. His first sentence was on the Syrian humanitarian crisis: "Today, while watching the videos our intelligence agency (MIT) captured in Damascus, we Justice and Development Party (AKP) members could not hold our tears back." Davutoglu was referring to the latest chemical attack in Syria.
During this two-hour interview, Davutoglu focused on Turkey's “principled” foreign policy toward Syria and Egypt. He expressed his resentment and surprise on the inaction of the international community. He said he was the first foreign minister to visit deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, and broke the news that the chief of Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT), Hakan Fidan, met with Morsi about 10 to 15 days prior to the coup. This revelation made the headlines, and surely deserves further questioning as to why and how MIT is involved in Egypt?
Davutoglu provided details on how Turkey has tried its utmost to generate a resolution of the Egyptian crisis, explaining how hard he worked with both his European counterparts and the Qatari government. His stated goal was to demonstrate that Turkey does not only talk about a principled foreign policy, but also acts on it. He concluded that the criticism toward his administration is not “fair.”
Al-Monitor contributors have elegantly explained why and how Turkey is alone in its Middle East policy. Davutoglu has accepted the feeling of being “alone” in his struggles, arguing there is pride in standing up for your principles, if you must. During his latest interview he endorsed the term “precious loneliness.” Social media beamed with arguments on how “strategic depth” evolved into the concept of precious loneliness.” Of course, Davutoglu joked during his interview that he is so busy with his international travels and phone calls, that, “How can we be deemed alone when case after case at the UN General Assembly has voted for the causes Turkey has championed?” He then reiterated that it is better to be alone and principled then standing on the “wrong side of history” without dignity.
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