I went to Ankara to attend the opening reception of this conference. There were around 180 Turkish ambassadors, and first Feridun Sinirlioğlu and then Davutoğlu addressed the audience. Davutoğlu contributed to the conference tremendously with his rich intellectual capacity and emphasized the importance of making plans for next year while assessing the previous year. The most important message he gave was about Turkey's decisive attitude against the attempts of linking the Cyprus issue to Turkey's EU membership.

The timing of this stance was notable because it came just before German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to southern Cyprus. After all, both Cemil Çiçek and Egemen Bağış have been saying for a while now that Turkey will neither give up Cyprus for EU nor the EU for Cyprus. Another point Davutoğlu made was about the "shift of axis" polemic. Some Western sources claim Turkey's foreign policy has shifted its axis from the West to the East and that the brainchild and chief activist of this new approach is Davutoğlu himself. But in reality, isn't it the West that is "pushing" Turkey away. Why aren't chapters in Turkey's full EU membership process not being opened? If this isn't an indication that Europe is pushing Turkey away, then what is?

Merkel's visit

Let me ask this: Will Merkel visit the northern part of Cyprus, or will her visit be limited to just the south? This is a sensitive topic and will spark debate. Now let's make two assessments, one pertaining to Cyprus in specific and the other pertaining to Turkey's foreign policy in general. When we look at Cyprus, we see that "real actors" like Israel and Germany are stepping in. These actors used to hide behind secondary actors like Greek Cypriots (or Armenians). Turkey is now able to see the real actors that are creating obstacles in its foreign policy. In fact, this assessment can be generalized. It is clear that the Cyprus issue is just an excuse and that the aim of competing forces is to balance out Turkey.

The second assessment is about the momentum Turkey has achieved in foreign policy. Turkey is the only one of its kind in the international system. It holds a unique position, and the indicators of this unique position have started appearing in recent years. Turkey is the only Muslim country that is part of military, economic and political organizations that were formed by the union of First World countries, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Council.

Turkey's unique position becomes even more appealing when you take into consideration that Turkey is a Western-style secular-democratic country that is a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Particularly after the Sept. 11 attacks, there were efforts to make Western states led by the US, on one hand, and the Muslim world, on the other, opponents. The only common denominator for both of these sides was Turkey. Identity debates that unraveled on the axis of whether Turkey would serve as a bridge between these two groups or be a fault line country and end up breaking up and fragmenting, kept international relations experts extremely busy throughout the 1990s.

The debates started focusing on Turkey's growing power as of the early 2000s. Particularly after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power, Turkey for the first time since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's period started making its presence strongly felt in the international community. Not only did a Turk serve as the OIC secretary-general, the NATO deputy secretary-general, NATO's Afghanistan representative, and a UN Development Program chief, but Turkey was a temporary member of the UN Security Council. All of these are clear indicators of Turkey's increasing influence in the international arena.

On the one hand, Turkey pioneers the establishment of various associations in the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East to foster cooperation among regional countries, and on the other it assumes critical roles in organizations that support cooperation and rapprochement between the East and the West such as the G-20 and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). This progress that Turkey has shown in the recent past is not coincidental. On the contrary, it would be more beneficial to regard Turkey's membership in international organizations as a component of Turkey's foreign policy strategy which can be called the "Davutoğlu doctrine." Turkey's efforts to increase its visibility in international organization within the scope of the Davutoğlu doctrine, which puts more and more soft power factors into play, produces as important and effective outcomes as its leading role in increasing mutual interdependence in the region.

Critical components of foreign policy

The meeting in Ankara was important because it is an event in which the basic parameters of the new policy that is turning Turkey into a "wise country" at the international level was shared with ambassadors. After the first day of the meeting in Ankara, several Cabinet ministers made comments and assessments until Thursday, Jan. 6. It is an undeniable fact that among the ministries, the fields of economy, energy, culture, tourism and transportation in particular have become critical components of foreign policy. In this respect, the speech of the Afghan foreign minister at Thursday's session was important in terms of consolidating Turkish-Afghan relations as well as in terms of highlighting Turkey's soft power and position in this country via NATO.

President Abdullah Gül also met with the ambassadors at the Çankaya presidential palace as part of the conference. His call on the ambassadors to be vigilant about rising xenophobia and racism in Europe was also very meaningful. Likewise, it was important that he said Turkey's diplomatic efforts regarding regional problems and conflicts were an example of "reverse engineering."

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou was also in Turkey to attend the Winter Universiade and the 3rd Ambassadors Conference in Erzurum. The tone he used during his speech shows how difficult Turkey's job is. It seems the economic challenges of EU-member Greece have made Greek politicians adopt traditional perceptions once again.

In this respect, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's warning on the need for a new tone against old problems was both timely and important. Of course Turkey should maintain its constructive and pro-solution attitude about the Cyprus issue and it should continue to pursue any diplomatic, economic and cultural initiative that is necessary in 2011 to address this issue. Greece is experiencing difficult days -- and for valid reasons. It is resorting to heroism because it is the most convenient and risk-free option.

Papandreou may have made that speech due to pressure from Turkey's and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus's (KKTC) coordinated pro-peace and positive peace-oriented policies in negotiations that are being held at the UN's initiative. Despite everything, Turkey should not lose its pre-Geneva solution-oriented approach while at the same time it should seek a dynamic approach that will make northern Cyprus economically and socially prepared for all solution alternatives.

Turkey should be prepared for all possible internal and external interventions that could happen because of the upcoming elections. Cyprus is going through a sensitive period in which it will not be made a domestic policy issue in Turkey in any way. In this respect, there are important and special roles Davutoğlu must assume. Turkey should not focus solely on negotiations and potential initiatives but also make plans that won't cause even the slightest damage to Turkish-northern Cypriot relations. It seems 2011 will be a year susceptible to any kind of surprise regarding northern Cyprus.