A+ A-

Erdogan embarks on 1st important foreign tour after referendum

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

By Redha Sardar

ANKARA, April 29 (KUNA) -- After the conclusion of the Turkish referendum on April 16, which resulted in a 'yes' vote on constitutional amendments, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan begins on Sunday an important foreign tour that will see him visit India, Russia, China, the US, and the Belgian capital Brussels were the NATO summit will be held.
In India, Erdogan will be partaking in the Turkish-Indian business forum and will meet with top officials from the Indian leadership, discussing with them efforts to bolster economic, commercial, and security cooperation.
On May 3, the Turkish President will be visiting the Russian city of Sochi where he will be meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The situation in Syria will likely be the focal point of the meeting between Erdogan and Putin.
The Russian-Turkish involvement in the conflict in Syria is very complicated.
On one hand, the two nations coordinated on issues such as evacuating people from Aleppo to Idlib and also called for resolving the matter in Syria between the Assad regime and the opposition in a peaceful manner.
The two nations also worked together to target the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
However, Ankara and Moscow have different agendas especially with Turkey being a NATO member.
In early April, NATO ally, the US, launched a military strike against an airport in Syria, an action, which put Turkey at odds with their Russian partners.
Bilateral relations were not always in tiptop shape especially with both Turkey and Russia imposing some sort of an economic embargo on goods that both nations exchanged with one another.
In the upcoming visit, Turkey and Russia will look into topics that would hopefully resolve differences and also push for better relations.
In his third stop, Erdogan will be visiting China on May 14-15 where he will be partaking in the "One Belt, One Road" economic forum which will gather leaders of 28 countries.
The forum, launched by China in 2013, focuses on boosting commercial ties amongst countries in Southeast and Central Asia in addition to Europe.
Perhaps the most important stop in Erdogan's tour will be his visit to Washington on May 16-17 where he will be meeting with President Donald Trump.
Erdogan is expected to renew his calls for the handing in of the leader of the Gulen movement, Muhammed Fethullah Gulen.
Ankara accuses the influential Muslim cleric of masterminding the failed coup d'etat in 2016.
The Turkish President would probably also touch on another subject connected with the US support of the Kurdish groups in northern Syria, an assistance in which Ankara is not enthusiastic about.
Of course, Erdogan's visit to Washington will not solely focus on issues of contention; it will touch on ways to further enhance ties.
Erdogan's visit to the NATO headquarters in Belgium on April 25 will also be crucial.
The President is expected to meet with several EU leaders on the sideline of his participation in the NATO summit.
Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland had a few diplomatic scuffles back in March on the backdrop of denying entry to certain number of Turkish officials to these respective European nations.
The European countries said that these officials were trying to bring internal matters concerning Turkey to the Turkish communities in their lands, a step seen as an interference in domestic affairs.
Turkey fired back, accusing some European nations of supporting causes connected with the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).
Erdogan himself also had some strong choices of words, saying that some European countries treatment of Turkish officials was no different from the "Nazis".
There are other issues of difference between Turkey and some members of the EU, however, the meetings on the sideline of the NATO summit seems as a good chance for Ankara and Europe to mend their wounds and look for better dialogue and cooperation. (end) rs.gta