ISTANBUL // In a sign of Turkey's growing concerns about a possible new conflict in the region, Ankara is stepping up its efforts to convince Iran to be more open about its nuclear programme, an issue that is likely to dominate the first visit of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, in Turkey next week.
Mr Ahmadinejad is expected to arrive in Istanbul on Thursday. He will have talks with Abdullah Gul, Turkey's president, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister. The visit highlights the growing role that Turkey plays in the region. Observers said Turkey has long been reluctant to receive Mr Ahmadinejad because of the Iranian president's reputation as an Islamic hardliner who is bent on destroying Israel.
"Up to now, Turkey did not want Mr Ahmadinejad to come, because he was seen as a risk with a view to Turkey's relations with America and Israel," said Arif Keskin, an analyst on Iran at the Centre for Eurasian Strategic Studies in Ankara. "The fact that Turkey has now agreed to receive him shows that Turkey is concerned about the progress of the Iranian nuclear programme. So receiving Mr Ahmadinejad has become the smaller risk."
Turkish officials underlined the significance of Mr Ahmadinejad's visit. Turkey is a country trusted by both Iran and the P5+1, Ali Babacan, the foreign minister, said this week. He was referring to the five permanent UN Security Council members - the United States, China, France, Great Britain and Russia - as well as Germany who have offered Iran a package of incentives in return for an agreement by Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment.
So far, Iran has given no official answer. Washington has warned of further sanctions against Tehran. "If there is no agreement [on Iran's nuclear programme], Turkey will suffer, whether it is by sanctions or by military actions," Mr Keskin said. But diplomatic haggling before Mr Ahmadinejad's visit highlighted the problems in relations between Turkey, a predominantly Sunni nation with a secular structure and close ties to the West, and the Shiite regime of Iran.
Mr Ahmadinejad signalled that he would not be willing to visit the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, modern Turkey's founder in Ankara, thereby refusing to comply with the official Turkish protocol for state visits, Turkish media reported. To solve the problem, diplomats from the two countries agreed to move the visit to Istanbul and to officially define it as a working visit. Turkey has increased high-level contacts with Iran. Mr Babacan met Mr Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials in Tehran last week.
Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, held talks with Mr Babacan in Istanbul on July 20. Mr Erdogan visited Tehran in Dec 2006. Now, diplomats and politicians in Ankara are bracing themselves for possible criticism from their western allies for giving Mr Ahmadinejad a chance to break Iran's international isolation. While Turkey is determined to do everything to ease tensions, Ankara's options are limited. "Russia, China and the Europeans could not stop Iran - how could Turkey do that?" Mr Keskin said. In addition, the Iranians were not interested in a Turkish mediating role. "Iran does not want Turkey to gain further prestige in the region. Mr Keskin said Turkey would use Mr Ahmadinejad's visit to tell the Iranians that the situation is serious. The visit could also serve as a trust-building measure between the two neighbours, who view each other with suspicion, Mr Keskin said.
Although they have been co-operating in fighting Kurdish rebels that have their base in northern Iraq, Turkey and Iran disagree on fundamental issues in the Middle East. While Turkey is a traditional partner of Israel, Mr Ahmadinejad has publicly called for Israel's destruction. "But both countries do not want their problems to escalate," Mr Keskin said. @Email:tseibert@thenational.ae
