In the period of 1960-1980, Turkish Foreign Policy was active but unsuccessful in the 1950s, getting rid of its position as the spokesperson of the West in the Middle East, small steps were taken to improve bilateral relations with Arab countries within the framework of equality and mutual respect, and mistakes in the past were tried to be compensated - again with a policy of balance..
In this policy change followings has been effective;
"Turkey's Cyprus problem with Greece and the need for the support of Arab countries on this issue,
-The reflex of the May 27 coup plotters to criticize all kinds of policies of the Democratic Party government,
-Structural changes in Arab states,
-The Cold War left its place to softening in the world
Middle East Relations during the May 27 Coup
Structural changes in the Arab states were evident especially in Syria, Iraq and Egypt. It must be hard to say that it is an interesting coincidence, if the coup plotters in Turkey in the same period as the coup carried out by young officers in Iraq and Syria in order to save the country from underdevelopment and the seizure of power by the May 27 coup plotters in Turkey were not effective in this policy change.
The Baath Party, which was founded in 1950 by Greek Orthodox Michel Aflaq and Sunni Muslim Salahaddin Bitar, was established in a structure that prioritized Arab nationalism with the slogans of "Unity, freedom, socialism". Along with the Baath Party, the influence of Egypt in Iraq and Syria also decreased. Since 1952, under the influence of Nasser, Egypt lost its role as the protector of the Arab world to the Baath Party, which was also distinguished by Arab nationalism. At least its influence on Iraq and Syria has waned.
May 27 coup plotter officers in Turkey declared their loyalty to NATO and CENTO in order to prevent the US from misunderstanding the coup and to prevent the possibility of NATO intervening in Turkey based on the 1959 agreement. While declaring allegiance to NATO and CENTO on the one hand, the countries struggling for independence, on the other hand, started to take steps to strengthen relations with non-aligned and third world countries.
It took time for the relations with the Middle East to reach a certain level, which was stated in the government program of 11 July 1960. In the meantime, the National Unity Committee issued a statement against the Algerian War of Independence and declared the will to support the wars of national independence and especially the war of Algeria against the occupying French. This stance clearly did not take the form of siding with Algeria.
Because: President Cemal Gürsel's offer to mediate between France and Algerian nationalists was an indication of this. While there was a positive response from Algeria, France did not give an official response.
This attitude of the Turkish government was welcomed in the Arab world. Turkey, on the one hand, supported the independence movement in Algeria on the Algerian issue, and on the other hand, made diplomatic initiatives in the presence of our NATO ally, France, in order not to harm its relations with France.
However, despite all this, relations with the Middle East did not immediately improve. It would take time to establish an atmosphere of mutual trust in this geography that has been neglected for years. He gave the message that Turkey was not involved in the disintegration process of the United Arab Republic, which was established under the leadership of Egypt, but that Syria and Jordan, who wanted to leave this country, welcomed these attitudes with respect. In fact, the weakening of the hand of Egypt, which had a say in this region, was in Turkey's interest.
Meanwhile, developments in Iraq required Turkey to act in a way that resulted in its approach with caution. Because General Kasım, who came to power in Iraq, strengthened his relations with the USSR and received support from the Kurds and communists while coming to power, it was a period when harsh policies were developed for the Kurds, who were likely to have ethnic problems in Turkey. Turkey contented itself with watching the events from afar in the face of the 1962-1975 Northern Iraqi Kurdish Uprising, and after the Kurds fleeing the uprising in Baghdad, clustered on the Turkish border, and after the events that took place there, relations with Iraq and Turkey were strained. On July 8, 1962, after Iraqi warplanes crossed the border and bombed the town of Gerür near Hakkari, and this was repeated twice, Turkish warplanes opened fire on Iraqi warplanes that violated the border. Tensions ceased after the Iraqi government assured that it was a mistake and would not happen again.
These years, when Turkey started to develop its relations with the Arab/Islamic world, did not yield the desired result, perhaps because of the relations it has neglected since the past. Because at the UN meeting on 16 December 1965, the Arab countries did not side with Turkey on the Cyprus issue. Although, before the UN vote, he tried to explain his problems by sending delegations to countries such as Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia and Jordan, but it would be an extremely well-intentioned approach for the relations to reach the desired level in such a short time.