News Analysis: Failed coup may urge thaw in Turkey's regional ties, yet tense with West: experts

The recent failed coup attempt against Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is likely to urge him to improve Turkish ties with regional countries to support his reestablished position, said political experts.

Over the past few years, Turkey's ties have been tense with some countries in the Middle East region including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt for different reasons, yet the country has recently started to normalize ties with Israel, relaunch dialogue with Gulf states and improve relations with Saudi Arabia.

Facing internal pressures from opposition, the Turkish Kurds and the military, Erdogan might have been aware that his position was at stake and he had to win back some influential regional and international powers. Hence, thaw has recently been in Turkish relations with Russia, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

"Turkey has already started a new era of diplomacy with the region's countries. Even before the July 15 attempted coup, the new government under Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has been working hard to drive the country back to a more pragmatic foreign policy," Fadi Husseini, a researcher of Middle East affairs, told Xinhua.

"The Turkish government has moved steadily to win back regional friends it had lost over the past five years," the researcher added.

Husseini continued that the Turkish-Gulf dialogue has been resumed after a three-year halt due to tense relations following the removal of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by the army in 2013, noting the Turkish government's tone has changed towards countries like Egypt and Iraq.

"Turkish-Egyptian reconciliation has become possible as a number of influential Arab countries are pushing forward to achieve this goal," the expert argued, referring to leading oil-rich Gulf state Saudi Arabia and its affiliates.

Turkish relations with Egypt deteriorated since Morsi's ouster by the Egyptian military and the massive security crackdown on his now-blacklisted Muslim brotherhood group, which Erdogan strongly denounced on many occasions.

Egypt was silent to the coup bid against Erdogan, seemingly hoping for its success. Also as a non-permanent UN Security Council member, Egypt showed reservation to a joint statement backing Erdogan's government and rejecting the attempted coup.

"Turkey is aware of Egypt's regional weight. I believe that Turkey will reconcile with Egypt sooner or later in accordance with the current approach of the country's foreign policy," Husseini argued, stressing that Turkey's reconciliation with Gulf countries cannot be fully achieved without a settlement with Egypt, the Gulf's closest ally.

The Turkish authorities have launched mass purges and tremendous crackdown on dissidents since the failed attempt, arresting, sacking and interrogating some 60,000, including over 2,700 judges, more than 3,000 soldiers and some 15,000 teachers, besides policemen, state employees and others.

They have all been accused of having connection with the coup bid and being loyalists of Erdogan's arch foe Fethullah Gullen, a Turkish Muslim cleric currently living in the United States with followers in Turkey and abroad, who denied plotting the attempted coup.

The crackdown seems to bother European countries and may affect Turkey's long-time bid to join the European Union (EU), as indicated from the recent remarks of the French foreign minister who said that the failed coup is not "a blank cheque" for Erdogan.

"The coup attempt may overshadow Turkish-European relations as Erdogan is unhappy that most European countries were the last to denounce the attempt, especially Germany," said Mohamed Mohsen Abul-Nour, researcher of Iranian and Turkish affairs, noting Erdogan prevented Wednesday some German officials from entering a Turkish airbase used by the U.S.-led anti-IS international coalition.

Further, power was cut for a while at Turkey's same Incirlik military airbase that also houses NATO's nuclear weapons storage facility, which made the Pentagon announce they might give up using the base in the future. However, later coordination settled the issue and the coalition's operations at the airbase were resumed Sunday.

"Germany as a leading EU state still needs Turkey as a strong NATO partner, yet I believe the recent developments may cause tense between Turkey and the NATO for the next year or two," Abul-Nour told Xinhua. Endit