Two recent statements from the Turkish leadership regarding its role in an attempt to de-escalate the Syrian crisis warrant a closer look.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Ankara on Aug. 30, “We called on the international community to show a determination against [the atrocities of the Syrian regime] because of our concerns about what things have become today.” He added, “We showed effort for humanity, for conscience and for Turkey’s security.” 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed dismay on Aug. 26 about Iran’s role in Syria. “We have been on the side of Iran from the very beginning. We in fact did that by turning the whole world against us,” he said. “We, however, did not expect to see Iran now playing such a role in Syria. After the Hama massacre in 1982, the late [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini did not grant any appointment for months to [then-Syrian President] Hafez al-Assad. But today’s approach is not the same approach.” 

This is a typical public outreach by Turkey’s current leadership in the sense that they have done all there is to be done — in the right way, but that their vision was not understood, and therefore things got out of control. While it will be a mistake to make Turkey carry the burden of the current catastrophe in the region, it will also be equally wrong to let it off the hook that easily. After all, if there is chaos in the region, it cannot only be explained by the popular bashing of ambitions of imperialistic powers in advancing their interest in the region’s natural resources such as oil and natural gas, or by watching out for Israel’s best security. The simple logic should also follow that the countries in the region all have a part to play in making this mess. And Turkey has its share in the current turmoil, as there is an abdication of reason in the way it played its cards in the region.