TURKEY'S POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Abstract

The rule of the Islamist Justice and Development Party in Turkey led to a change in the ideological foundation of the state and to the gradual abandonment of the ideas of Atatürk, on which the country's domestic and foreign policy was based. Turkish leader R. Erdogan, through a constitutional referendum, managed to neutralize the political influence of the army, including with the help of the Gülenist movement, which he later defeated. The strengthening of Erdogan's domestic positions also led to a change in foreign policy priorities: orientation to the West gave way to strengthening ties with the Islamic world. Under the influence of the ideas of neo-Ottomanism, the ruling circles of Turkey enthusiastically greeted the revolutions of the "Arab Spring"; however, these ideas did not receive support in the Arab world. Continuing the course of fighting the PKK inside Turkey, Ankara began a fight with the Syrian Kurds in order to prevent the creation of Kurdish autonomy in Syria. Russian intervention prevented the Turkish occupation of northern Syria. In Libya, Turkey supported the government of F. Saraj and the Islamists associated with it and is trying to take control of part of the Mediterranean shelf.