Time for Turkey to try quiet diplomacy

President Barack Obama’s visit to Turkey last week – towards the end of his first big international trip – paid a handsome compliment to the country’s growing influence in international affairs. Under the administration of George W. Bush, relations between Washington and Ankara slipped badly, not least because Turkey refused to support the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. But Mr Obama’s state visit may have marked a turning point. The US president underlined Turkey’s importance as a bridge between the Islamic world and the west. He made clear that Turkey had a role as a negotiator between Israel and the Arab world. He voiced, too, the hope that Turkey would one day join the European Union.

This last aspiration, of course, prompted another display of anguish from some European leaders. No sooner had Mr Obama spoken than Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, argued that “the immense majority” of EU states opposed Turkey’s accession. Angela Merkel, German chancellor, acknowledged there were huge “differences of opinion” inside her country on Turkey’s EU hopes.

Such doubts over Turkey’s EU ambition are regrettable. As Abdullah Gul, Turkey’s president, reminded the FT in an interview last week, his country has begun entry negotiations with the EU and is pressing on with political reforms needed to underpin its bid. It should be encouraged in this. The prospect of EU membership is one of the best guarantees of Turkey’s political stability. It would also help improve relations between Islam and the west.

Even so, the Turkish government must be aware of one thing. It does itself no favours when adopting a needlessly brash tone on the world stage. Turkey may be playing a constructive role in attempts to stabilise Iraq and Afghanistan. But Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister, nearly wrecked the recent Nato summit with his lone opposition to Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s nomination as the organisation’s secretary-general. The summit was too important a stage for such petty grandstanding, which damaged Turkey’s international image.

Instead, this is a time for Turkey to display quiet and responsible diplomacy. The next few months bring two great challenges. The first is to normalise relations with Armenia and reopen the border closed by Turkey in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan. The second is to reach a settlement with Greece over Cyprus, a dispute which poisons decision-making inside the EU and Nato. If Turkey can display statesmanship on both these fronts, it will significantly bolster its claims to EU accession.