Turkish official: Brexit ‘a new era’ in Anglo-Turkish relations

A Turkish parliamentary delegation concluded a five day visit to the United Kingdom yesterday, meeting with parliamentarians and peers in order to bolster ties in a post-Brexit environment.

The delegation, led by Mehmet Eker, MP and Vice Chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), discussed developing bilateral relations with the UK, including expanding cooperation in several key sectors, including trade, industry and security.

“There is a new era starting because of Brexit…[and] as an ally and friend of the UK, we would like to take steps forward to have better cooperation,” Eker said, adding that the two nations had considerable ties of friendship, including the fact that they were both NATO allies.

According to the delegation, trade volume between Turkey and the UK was $16 billion last year, and Turkey expected it to rise by a further one billion the following year. These figures indicate a strong economic partnership between the two nations, one that Ankara seeks to grow following Brexit.

In addition to meeting their British parliamentarian counterparts, Eker confirmed to MEMO that he and his team had met with several British NGOs, institutions and think tanks. The Turkish delegation took the opportunity to tell them about the failed coup attempt of 15 July.

“We explained what happened, who did it…what measures were taken in the aftermath,” Eker explained, adding “We lost 241 innocent and unarmed civilians.” He laid blame squarely on the Fethullah Gulen organisation whose leader is currently being harboured by the United States.

Eker also relayed how he was personally shot at from one of the coup plotters’ helicopters as he came to the Turkish parliament. “We went [to the parliament] to defend the heart of the nation and the heart of democracy.”

The delegation stressed that they were keen on building ties with Britain in an attempt to increase counter-terrorism cooperation, amongst other mutually beneficial agreements.

“We look forward to improving bilateral relations with the UK,” Eker concluded.

Turkish-Egyptian relations

 In a private meeting with MEMO in London yesterday, Eker also discussed the wider role Turkey plays in the Middle East, and clarified his country’s stance on several issues.

Eker confirmed that Turkey still perceives Egyptian political events from 2013 as being nothing more than “a legitimate, democratically elected government [being] overturned by force” and stated that Turkey operates based on “principles.”

Turkey supported the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood after current President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi overthrew Egypt’s first and only democratically elected government headed by Mohamed Morsi. Turkey strongly denounced Al-Sisi for Rabia and other massacres that claimed thousands of Egyptian lives.

When asked on whether Ankara would restore diplomatic ties with Al-Sisi’s Egypt before Morsi’s release was secured, a long-held Turkish demand, Eker said: “We are a friend to our Egyptian brothers and sisters…we are in favour of principles,” suggesting that Turkey would reconsider ties depending on whether Egyptian popular sentiment would confer legitimacy on the Al-Sisi regime or not.

Eker also confirmed that low level diplomatic channels had been opened with the Al-Sisi regime, although he did not elaborate on what was being discussed.

Operation Euphrates Shield

 The Turkish delegation also clarified what their government was doing to contribute towards an end to the Syrian conflict. They confirmed that Turkey had so far spent $25 billion in aid to the more than three million refugees in their country, whilst receiving hardly any support from other nations.

They also confirmed that their troops were actively involved in combating terrorism in Syria, in conjunction with moderate Syrian opposition factions such as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), also backed by the United States.

“Our troops are in Jarablus and in Dabiq,” Eker confirmed.

MEMO asked Eker to comment on allegations made by a senior Iraqi intelligence official earlier this month in London, who alleged that Turkey’s operation, dubbed “Euphrates Shield”, was conducted in coordination with Daesh units in Jarablus who simply exchanged uniforms, indicating it was a false flag operation.

Members of the Turkish delegation were clearly surprised that a senior Iraqi Kurdish intelligence official could make such assertions, to which Eker responded: “Total nonsense…Rubbish. How can someone allege this after we have been attacked by [Daesh] in our homes…in wedding ceremonies like in Gaziantep?”

Earlier this year, Daesh militants attacked a wedding ceremony in Gaziantep in a bomb attack, killing many. The terrorist attack was captured on camera by wedding guests, many of whom could be heard screaming as they ran for their lives.

“We are in open war [against Daesh]…and we do not have masochistic tendencies [to cooperate with them].”

Eker confirmed that Turkey was willing to work with the international community to retake Raqqa, Daesh’s capital in Syria, and said that the Syrian crisis had gone on for too long mainly due to the fact that global powers had not imposed a no-fly zone over Syria.

 Ankara’s role in Iraq against Daesh

 The final topic of discussion broached by MEMO was related to the Turkish presence in Iraq. The Turkish MPs confirmed that their troops in Bashiqa, northern Iraq, had trained up to 3,500 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who were playing a “very active role in fighting [Daesh].”

Indicating that Turkish military training was providing a qualitative edge in the fight against Daesh, Eker said: “The Peshmerga are fighting in the most effective way [due to Turkish training]…our support was real…we weren’t playing around.”

MEMO asked Eker to comment on the Iraqi government’s anger in recent weeks due to the Turkish deployment in Bashiqa, and also asked why Iran was not similarly criticised despite Iraq being used by the Iranians as a military hub.

Although Eker declined to comment on Iran, he slammed the Iraqi authorities for criticising the Turkish contribution in the fight against Daesh: “How did Mosul fall…Did they [the Iraqi Security Forces] fire even one single bullet? No…they fled and lost Mosul.”

The AKP lawmaker also said that the Turkish fight against Daesh in Iraq was to serve Turkish national interests, indicating that the more than 1.5 million civilians in Mosul may become refugees and will head to Turkey.

“Where will they go? Will they go to Baghdad? Tehran? Anywhere else in the region? Of course not. They will come to Turkey, the island of stability in the region.”