Turkish President Erdogan has begun adopting a new regional policy of reducing his country’s frictions with the countries of the region to improve its economic situation and regional status. Erdogan has already reconciled with the United Arab Emirates and opened reconciliation talks with Egypt and Israel, the "Mossad agents" affair has been left behind and Israel is now ready to upgrade relations with it, including the return of ambassadors.
Turkey has begun adopting a new regional policy that is reflected in the thaw of tensions between it and several countries in the region such as Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
On November 24, Abu Dhabi's heir, Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed, paid a visit to Turkey and met with President Erdogan. During the visit, important economic agreements were signed that included $10 billion in investments in Turkey.
There was great tension between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates over the struggle for economic water in the Mediterranean, the United Arab Emirates' support for Egyptian President al-Sisi's regime and President Erdogan's attempt to advance the Muslim Brotherhood's takeover of Egypt.
In addition, Turkey is working resolutely against Muhammad Dahlan, the security adviser to Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed, whom he had accused of involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul and the operation of a UAE spy unit in Turkey.
President Erdogan has decided to change his policy towards some issues in the region, and the one who assists him and is at the forefront of this political effort is the Turkish intelligence chief Kan Fidan, who considers himself a potential successor to Erdogan once he steps down from the political stage.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has decided on his new policy for several reasons.
A. Internal considerations of the situation in Turkey, especially the deep crisis in the Turkish economy, the collapse of the Turkish lira and the attempt to improve the economic situation ahead of the 2023 elections.
B. International changes, mainly due to the change of government in the US and the entry of President Joe Biden into the White House, Erdogan wants to please the new American president and show that he seeks reconciliation and peace, so he began preparatory steps for reconciliation with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Israel and dialogue with Greece.
C. Turkey has problems in the Caucasus and the Balkans, it has conflicts in Syria and Iraq and also problems with Iran and Libya and it feels it is becoming isolated.
Turkey has interests in the Mediterranean region and this requires it to have good relations with Egypt and Israel.
The new Turkish policy states that Turkey's friction with the countries of the region should be reduced and relations relaxed, the main motive of this policy is to safeguard Turkey's economic interests and regional status.
After President Erdogan returned from a visit to Qatar last week he told reporters: "We are ready to do what is necessary to end tensions in the region, Turkey treats security and stability in the Gulf region as Turkey's security and stability, we always want peace and security in the region."