Cooperation with Turkey is essential for EU

During Sunday's Berlin Conference, Turkey proved the correctness of the line it has been taking over the last number of years. We see that with the support of Turkey, the EU's most powerful players, starting with Germany, have been able of take successful steps toward allowing for peace and stability to return to Libya. Thanks to the Berlin Conference, the possibility of ending the civil war in Libya is within sight. It is, however, too early to be certain yet. After all, the decisions of countries and international organizations involved in the Berlin Conference regarding a ceasefire in Libya will not change overnight. Still, taking a joint step in this matter is considerable progress, however minor in appearance.
Germany and other EU member states that have participated in the Berlin Conference have seen that the Libyan problem can only be solved by the active participation of Turkey and Russia. By accepting this reality, they have cooperated with Turkey and Russia.
By taking joint steps for peace and stability in Libya, Turkey and Russia have played an important role in turning the Berlin Conference into a success.
If Turkey were not to support Libya's U.N.-approved government opposing Putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar who was attempting to produce a dictatorship in Libya and his mercenaries, today we would not in fact have been able to speak of success at all.
Turkey was the only country to actually support the Libyan government that was acknowledged by U.N. and received the official support of the EU. If Turkey had not intervened, today's “wannabe dictator” Haftar, who was supported by oppressive regimes such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt, may have ended up taking control of Tripoli.
The U.N. and EU have remained indifferent to Haftar’s assault for months. Their support only remained in word. Turkey, having noted this fact, implemented the steps that should have been taken by these institutions, backing up the forces advocating democracy in Libya. Today, Libya’s legitimate government, as well as people across the country, are continuing their daily lives freely, thanks to support from Turkey on every front.
The role that Russia has played in Libya is a kind we know all too well. The leader-in-name-only who managed to cause Haftar to say “yes” to a ceasefire by cooperating with Russia is President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. If the Turkish president’s dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin had not occurred, today we wouldn’t be talking about the things now on the agenda for Libya.
Erdoğan’s and Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s multi-directional diplomatic initiatives have proved to be beneficial. It seems that Haftar was the first to realize that Turkey was not joking about Libya and that, if necessary, it would not shy away from military intervention.
The countries providing all sorts of aid to Haftar also recognized Turkey's presence in Libya as a warning. It was due to this that those on the side of war stopped in their tracks. Through the steps Turkey has taken for a ceasefire in Libya, both sides have ended up taking constructive steps.
A chance for lasting peace and stability in Libya has been seized. No one should doubt that Turkey will continue to give support regarding this matter as it did until this day.
Having unjustly criticized Turkey on many issues, the EU needs to wake up to the reality that the country has been on the right footing all along.
If the active fight Turkey has conducted against terrorism in Syria were not to happen, it would not have been possible to subdue Daesh in the region. Again, since the EU has remained indifferent to Turkey's call to provide secure zones in Syria that would enable Syrians to remain in their homelands, Turkey ended up producing secure zones in Syria alone, thereby providing the necessary environment for Syrians to live in peace as part of an operation Turkey is still committed to.
Turkey ended up being the only country that has done what needed to be done both in the fight against terrorism and to solve the refugee crisis. Today, it is not possible to enable peace and stability in the Middle East without the help of Russia. The cooperation of Turkey and Russia is essential for Syria and Iraq as much as it is for Libya. We should also remember that for any steps involving Iran, Turkey and Russia will have their joint assistance called upon again.
The EU can only play an active role in the resolution of problems in North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, with the help of Turkey, despite insistently stalling the latter's membership. The fact that stability in Libya, Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean can only be produced not by opposing NATO member Turkey, but rather taking steps side by side with Turkey, is a clear fact. To succeed in the fight against terrorism and stop a repeat of the refugee crisis of 2015, it would benefit the EU to review its policy toward Turkey, steering it in the direction of renewed cooperation.