The Brussels Forum which has been organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) since 2006, was held from 20 to 22 March this year for the fourth time.

The Brussels Forum bringing together senior bureaucrats from EU institutions and member states, US Cabinet members, parliamentarians, politicians, academicians and representatives of media organizations was attended by AK Party Deputy Chairman of External Affairs, Spokesman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Turkish Grand National Assembly, Suat KINIKLIOGLU.

KINIKLIOGLU spoke at two sessions at the Brussels Forum. His first contribution was in the lunch discussion titled “Turkey Prior to Obama’s Visit” where KINIKLIOGLU mentioned the potential positive contribution of an early Obama visit to Turkish – American relations.

KINIKLIOGLU emphasized that Turkey’s relations with its immediate neighborhood in fact contribute to its strategic importance within the Western alliance. He said that Turkey will continue to reintegrate into its neighborhood as these are “natural historical processes which we will help accelerate”. KINIKLIOGLU also spoke at a night owl session titled “Engaging Difficult Actors in the Middle East” where he was accompanied by US Senator Robert Casey and German Bundestag Member Gert Weisskirchen.

KINIKLIOGLU emphasized the need to engage difficult actors in the Middle East and pointed to Turkey’s advantages in talking to these actors. KINIKLIOGLU particularly underlined that Turkey was giving the right messages to actors such as Hamas but wielded respect because of its balanced approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.