Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted understandably nervous in the end of a referendum on the Northern Iraqi Kurds independence. In his statement, trying to undo the Kurdish efforts in the North Iraq, he referred to Kosovo, quoted as saying that “114 states have recognized Kosovo, but unfortunately could not become a state. There are still many problems. Northern Iraq, what you will do with Israel alone?”.

This new position of the Turkish President goes against his attitude, expressed emotionally in Kosovo in 2013, when Erdogan said “we all belong to the same history, common culture, common civility; we are peoples who became brothers on this structure. Never forget, Turkey is Kosovo and Kosovo is Turkey”.

In both cases, the Turkish President is wrong. Kosovo is a State, despite of Turkey’s new geostrategic circumstances; also Kosovo is not Turkey. Kosovo is not Serbia or Albania either, no matter who says what. Kosovo is simply Kosovo. A newborn, sovereign, independent state, with its problems in state-forming, just like any new state. It’s no big deal really why the Turkish President sees as a problem the number of UN member countries that have recognized Kosovo so far, the real problem lies in the fact that he connect Kosovo’s being-a-state with the UN membership, aligning Turkey with Moscow and Belgrade in rapport with Kosovo. It could be seen as a harmless concession should such a statement not come in a time of Turkey distancing itself from the 70-year-old Euro-Atlantism and its approaching to Russia. However, it’s up to Turkey to explain its rapport with Kosovo in a short term.

To be honest, this is not the real rapport between Kosovo and Turkey. Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Kosovo’s independence, despite its domestic issues with the Kurdish minority. It supported the independence and lobbied for further recognition. It helped Kosovo’s institutions, its economy and the defending troops of Kosovo (TMK).

But we must be aware it did not do that because Kosovo Albanians are brothers to Turks, neither because “Kosovo is Turkey and Turkey is Kosovo”. It did it simply for the sake of its interests. This is what Abanians of Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia and wherever they are should understand. The rapports among them and Turkey are ones that are dictated by the state interests of each party. There is nothing wrong here. The mutual interests are the backbone of the relationships among countries and peoples. Albanians need to understand that and leave the folklorisms.

Having said all that, we must accept that in the history of the relationship among Albanians and Turkey, from the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the relations have been strong, friendly and somehow brotherly; with their ups and downs, but still Turkey remains a regional politic, economic, diplomatic and military power with a positive influence on Albanians. By the other hand, we could not and cannot interfere in the relationship between Turkey and Serbia, exactly because of Turkey’s national interests. That relationship, despite Kosovo, has been excellent (excluding NATO campaign in Kosovo in 1999). They remain excellent to date, especially the economic ones, even better than the ones with the Albanians in their respective states.

The position of any foreign leader or country in relation to Kosovo is automatically a position in relation to Albanians as well. Mr. Erdogan’s rapports with Albanians up to his last statement, have been friendly. His individual rapports with the Albanian leadership have had their ups and downs. From 2013, his personal rapports with the Albanian Prime Minister have been more than friendly. Rama’s visits to Erdogan’s house now have become a routine. Nothing bad here, as long as their relationship translates into healthy relationships among countries they represent. Erdogan’s brutal intervention in Rama’s favour during the last electoral campaign, despite our criticism, would have been excused if the individual rapports would turn into stable institutional rapports between the two countries.

For his own reasons and under isolation, Edi Rama’s propaganda has tried to convince us that Turkey is Albanians’ salvation. Erdogan’s two individual projects for the creation of an Albanian airline with the help of the Turkish Airlines were vividly trumpeted. Even though it is a positive thing, it will not affect Albania’s economic development. Constructing an airport in the south of the country is also positive, but its success does not depend by a new airplanes track, but by its usefulness for the country’s economic development. If it is constructed and left like Kukësi airport, that would be a waste of money.

Returning to Erdogan’s declaration, it is up to him to clear the air about his government’s rapport with Kosovo’s state. By the other hand, it helped to return to ground the Turkey enthusiasts and make them understand that there’s no eternal brotherhood in the relations between nations, but congruence or incongruence. Also, he wore off the last mask from Edi Rama’s face in the so-called “Turkish dream”. At the same time, he removed an argument from the politic charlatans, like the one of Besa in Macedonia, who said he had “talked with Edi Rama about the Turkish investments in Macedonia”.

© SYRI.net