While the past decade has seen significant political and economic success for Turkey, the popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa, known collectively as the Arab Spring, have presented problems for Ankara, explained Henri Barkey on the Charlie Rose Show. “Turkey’s zero problems policy with its neighbors has become a policy of zero problems with Arab regimes,” Barkey explained. This is particularly the case in Syria, where Ankara worked hard to improve relations with the increasingly unpopular Assad regime. Unlike in Egypt or Tunisia, Barkey warned that the potential for a bloodbath in Syria is significant and with an open border between Turkey and Syria, the possibility of thousands of Syrians fleeing to Turkey is very high. “Prime Minister Erdogan and President Obama are both working to promote a soft transition” in Syria, in order to mitigate violence and instability, Barkey concluded.
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