For decades Turkey had virtually no Middle East policy. Ataturk had decreed that Turkey’s future lay with the secular West, not with the remains of the old Ottoman Empire or Iran. Elsewhere, Turkey was bordered mainly by an old enemy, Russia, and a newer one, Greece. This changed with the break-up of the Soviet Union; the rise of oil-rich Arab states; growing prosperity but also growing energy dependency on Russia and Iran; and – a novelty for Turkey – the assumption of power by a party which was not militantly secularist. In recent years, Turkey has become embroiled in conflict in the Middle East, in particular in Syria. Its relations with Europe and the United States are in flux. Will Turkey become part of Middle Eastern turmoil rather than a bastion against it?
Sir David Logan was British Ambassador to Turkey from 1997-2001, and also served at the British Embassy there between 1966-1970. For most of his Diplomatic Service career he specialised in east-west relations and in defence policy, with appointments as Assistant Under Secretary for Central and Eastern European Affairs, and for Defence Policy. He has been director of the Centre for Studies in Security and Diplomacy; a senior Fellow of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue; and director and consultant to a range of British, Russian and Turkish companies. He served as the Chairperson of the BIAA between 2006-2017.