Erdogan has castigated major powers for lecturing Iran on its nuclear ambitions even as they sit on their own arsenals of nuclear weapons. Turkey has made a point. It not only reflects Iran’s dilemma, but of Turkey’s own quest for identity as a secular and democratic nation seeking European Union membership.

Erdogan’s comments call for honest and exhaustive debate on nuclear proliferation and double standards that nuclear powers have practised all these years. They come at a time when Tehran is at the crossroads of redrafting its nuclear strategy, and atomic energy experts are inspecting its enrichment facilities. Though Iran has renounced plans to build nuclear weapons by terming them ‘un-Islamic’, Washington and its allies are far from convinced. Despite Tehran agreeing to harsher conditions, such as shipping its enriched uranium to Russia and France to be turned into fuel, acrimony over the issue is far from over. Perhaps, Erdogan is right. It is a perceptional divide that has grown into institutional mistrust between the Muslim states and the West. Such an approach has endangered congenial ties and collaboration in all walks of life.

Turkey’s role in acting as a bridge between Europe and Asia can neither be disputed, nor ignored. It has campaigned for a rapprochement between Europe and the Middle East, and stands for a nuclear free region. Which is why its vision of a secular and democratic Muslim world is appreciated, and has been a source of inspiration to the region. However, Turkey’s courage to hold a mirror to the West on its doublespeak emerges from its own experiences. The non-seriousness on the part of the United States and Europe to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli imbroglio has long agitated the Turkish people. Which is why Erdogan made it a point to walk out of the Davos Economic summit early this year by snubbing Shimon Peres and has pursued the Richard Goldstone report on Gaza at the UN Human Rights Council. 

In an era when the world leadership is mulling over a common ground of action to ensure peace and stability, Ankara has a role to play. There is no need to compartmentalise Erdogan’s remarks as cynical or radical. Turkey’s Western friends need to ponder the issues raised by him.