Turkey and the UAE’s Dangerous Collision Course
Turkey and the UAE’s Dangerous Collision Course

Author(s): Antonio Occhiuto, Giorgio Cafiero
Subject(s): Politics, Security and defense, Military policy, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Mednarodni inštitut za bližnjevzhodne in balkanske študije IFIMES
Keywords: UAE; Turkey; foreign policy; Yemen; conflicts;
Summary/Abstract: It is impossible to deny that tensions between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are escalating. Although relations between these two powers have been worsening since the “Arab Spring” uprisings of 2011, this year the Turkish-Emirati “Cold War” is heating up significantly. Abu Dhabi and Ankara are challenging each other across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)—from Libya to Qatar and Syria to Yemen—while other regions such as the Balkans, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa are also theaters for their competition. In May 2020, Ankara’s chief diplomat, Mevlut Cavusoglu, accused Abu Dhabi of sowing chaos through its military interventions in Libya and Yemen. These words from Cavusoglu were a response to a joint statement made by Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, and the UAE, which condemned Ankara’s military intervention in Libya that has severely weakened the Emirati-sponsored General Khalifa Haftar’s power. “If you are asking who is destabilizing this region, who is bringing chaos, then we would say Abu Dhabi without any hesitation,” said Turkey’s top diplomat. “It is a reality that they are the force that has unsettled Libya and destroyed Yemen.”

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