“War of names” between Turkey and the UAE as the diplomatic spat intensifies

The diplomatic spat between Turkey and the UAE, started recently over a Tweet by an Emirati official, is becoming more and more serious. In its latest reaction, the Turkish government has decided to rename the street of the UAE embassy in Ankara and name it after Fahreddin Pasha.

کد خبر: ۷۵۸۱۵۸

تاریخ: ۰۳ دی ۱۳۹۶ - ۱۴:۳۵

Tabnak – The diplomatic spat between Turkey and the UAE, started recently over a Tweet by an Emirati official, is becoming more and more serious. In its latest reaction, the Turkish government has decided to rename the street of the UAE embassy in Ankara and name it after Fahreddin Pasha.

Anadolu news agency cites Ankara’s municipality, reporting that the name of the street where the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy is located in the Turkish capital will be changed. The street will be renamed as Fahreddin Pasha Street -- after the Ottoman governor of Medina from 1916-1919.

The move comes a week after UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan retweeted a post on Twitter which accused Fahreddin Pasha of committing crimes against the local population and theft of their property. The post drew the ire of Ankara, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his top aide Ibrahim Kalin slamming the allegations.

Mayor Mustafa Tuna gave orders for the renaming of 613th Street in Ilkbahar neighborhood of Cankaya district, a statement said, adding the change would become permanent after a decision at the first upcoming Municipality Assembly meeting.

The diplomatic row comes at a time that Turkey has sided with Qatar after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Doha on June 5, accusing the kingdom of sponsoring terrorism and destabilizing the region.

The four countries have also imposed a series of economic sanctions against Doha while barring Qatari aircraft from using their airspace. Qatar’s only land border with Saudi Arabia has also been blocked as a result. Qatar has rejected the claims while maintaining that it is paying the price for its independent foreign policy.

On the other hand, diplomatic ties between the UAE and Turkey plunged after Abu Dhabi supported Egyptian General el-Sisi’s government, which was founded after the coup d’etat that removed Mohamed Morsi from power in 2013.

During the spat the UAE recalled its ambassador to Ankara in 2013, after which the post was vacant for three years. The UAE did not appoint a new ambassador to Turkey until 2016.

Following Turkey’s July 2016 coup attempt relations were tense again, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu reportedly accusing the Persian Gulf country of “financing the coup.”

Meanwhile, Almonitor analyst Cengiz Candar notes that the recent spat comes at a time when Erdogan, who is increasingly manifesting an anti-American stand following US President Donald Trump’s Jerusalem decision, is seeking to resurrect the historical Ottoman grandeur. Hence, even a single retweet provides him with an opportunity to make a fiery speech to boost his attempts to unite the Muslim world under Turkey’s leadership.

However, according to Candar, “Ankara knows that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are inseparable allies supported by Washington. Thus, deterioration of the bilateral relationship between Turkey and the UAE will inevitably spill over into Ankara’s ties with Riyadh and Washington,” and maybe this would not be a favorable result for Erdogan.