February 21, 2006: Depending on your source, last Thursday's visit to Ankara by a five man delegation of the Hamas organization was either a success or a foreign-policy disaster. For Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gül, the visit is a prelude to Turkish diplomatic success in the morass of the Middle East peace process. For Hamas leader Chaled Maschaal, the surprise visit to a country that Hamas sees as a democractic model was a success. According to Maschaal, the Hamas movement sensed the same support in Ankara that it receives in Arab capitals. Some observers, however, see the Hamas visit as a potential foreign policy fiasco for Turkish prime minister Erdogan.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Erdogan had already proclaimed his vision for Turkey as a mediator between Israel and Hamas. Erdogan believes that Hamas will "drift to the middle" after it has been in power for a while. The Hamas visit to Turkey gives the appearance of a rift between Turkey as an aspiring EU member and the official EU position. The European Union will consider official contacts with Hamas only if the organization renounces terrorism and recognizes Israel's right to exist.

In defending the meeting wth Hamas in Ankara, Turkey was quick to point out that the visit was not an official "state" visit. The Turkish foreign ministry emphasized that the initiative for the talks came from Hamas and that Erdogan's party AKP had then invited the five Hamas representatives to visit Ankara. Erdogan did not take part in the meeting, but his foreign minister Abdullah Gül did. Gül defended the talks with Hamas by explaining that Turkey has been working for years to stop "the flow of blood and tears" in the Middle East. The meeting with the Hamas delegation was "appropriate" and the need to foresake violence and recognize Israel were mentioned.

According to Turkish press reports, the Hamas visit was arranged on short notice. The reason given for the quick action was that the first invitation for Hamas might otherwise have come from Iran. Concerns that Hamas and Iran will forge an alliance are justified, since both currently have similar views on the existence of the Jewish state of Israel.

It is clear that Turkish prime minister Erdogan has exposed himself to considerable risk by promoting the Hamas visit to Turkey. Erdogan, however, believes that he and his country have rediscovered an old role for Turkey: mediator between the Occident and the Orient. In addition to the Hamas initiative, Erdogan offered to mediate in the recent "cartoon conflict" involving caricatures of the prophet Mohammed published by a Danish newspaper. He would also like to mediate in the dispute with Iran over the use of nuclear power.

Supporters of EU membership for Turkey often emphasize the "bridge" function that Turkey could play between the non-Islamic majority of Europe and the Islamic Middle East, symbolized by the two bridges across the Bosporus in Istanbul. According to the "Kölner Stadtanzeiger", some political observers see Erdogan's goal in inviting Hamas as "emphasizing recent claims by Turkey of being a regional power and mediator. But the prime minister may also have had domestic politics in mind. The majority of orthodox supporters of his Islamic Justice Party (AKP) is pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli" (February 21, 2006).

How important is the concept of Turkey as a regional power for Turkish politics? Erdogan's willingness to snub the EU by having a Hamas delegation visit Ankara shows just how serious he is about his vision for Turkey's future role in the European Union.