Tensions have spiked between Turkey and a number of other countries in recent months.

The country has come close to a military collision with Greece over encroachments into Greek territorial waters, air space, and maritime economic zones in the Aegean. Ankara’s opposition to Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO and its decision to break off talks with Stockholm have also caused European and US tempers to flare.

The latter have accused Turkey of trying to weaken NATO and of pursuing policies inconsistent with NATO’s outlook, with some parts of the Western media beginning to refer to Turkey as the “disruptive ally.”

A new round of mutual recrimination was triggered by the incident of the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden earlier this month. The situation reached a point where nine Western capitals closed their consulates in Istanbul and issued travel warnings to citizens citing “security threats.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and other Turkish officials lashed out against the Western capitals’ refusal to share information on the alleged threats and their “ulterior motives.”

However, Turkey’s relations with the Arab region have generally improved. Considerable progress has been made towards rapprochement and resolving longstanding disputes between Ankara and the Arab capitals, even if significant challenges still remain.

It is against this background that the heavy casualties, destruction, and economic toll caused by the massive earthquake that struck southwestern Turkey on 6 February could have significant repercussions on Ankara’s diplomatic relations and on its policies towards various conflicts.

More than 45 governments hastened to send condolences and offer their support to Turkey in the aftermath of one of the most powerful quakes in a century. Egypt, the US, Greece and Israel, which have had particularly acrimonious relations with Turkey, were among the first to step forward.

Once the worst of the immediate ramifications of the earthquake are over, the various forms of relief and assistance that are rushing to Turkey from abroad may also turn out to have contributed to alleviating regional tensions. The sympathetic messages that Turkey has received show that catastrophes such as this can generate feelings of human solidarity in times of crisis and that these might generate a momentum of their own.

Turkey’s foreign relations will now likely experience a period of calm. As the country struggles to recover from this tragedy, foreign governments are likely to set aside their differences with Ankara out of sympathy for its plight.

Indications of this have been found in British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak personally joining volunteers in London helping to pack items for earthquake victims. US President Joe Biden also tweeted on 6 February that “I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, whose relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have often been strained, tweeted that “we are receiving terrible images from Turkey and Syria following an earthquake of unprecedented force. France is ready to provide emergency relief to the populations on the ground. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families.”

In Germany, home to the world’s largest Turkish diaspora community, Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his shock at the number of those killed and injured in the regions of Turkey and Syria affected by the earthquake, according to a German government website.

“During catastrophes we must all pull together and support one another,” Scholz told the German parliament the Bundestag shortly after the quake, adding that German search and rescue teams and technical experts were already in the earthquake zone in Turkey and more were on their way.

Expressions of sympathy and packages of emergency assistance also came from all parts of the Arab region. It is noteworthy that Cairo, whose relations with Ankara have been strained for many years, sent tons of relief aid to both Turkey and Syria. President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi also telephoned his Turkish counterpart to convey his condolences to the Turkish people.

The EU also immediately responded to Turkey’s request for help. After Turkey activated a request under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, “20 EU countries, plus Albania and Montenegro, have offered teams in coordination with the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) and the Turkish authorities. Twenty nine search and rescue teams are heading to the hardest hit areas in Türkiye to help the first responders on the ground; 17 of these teams have already arrived,” the European Commission said.

Despite their differences with Ankara, both Sweden and Greece reached out to help. The earthquake prompted the first direct call between the Greek and Turkish heads of state in months. In a telephone call on 6 February, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis “expressed his distress over the devastating earthquake in Turkey and... reiterated Greece’s readiness to immediately assist Turkey in every way,” his office said. A Greek team had reportedly already left to join other rescue workers in the devastated area.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on his Twitter account that he had conveyed his deepest condolences to President Erdogan and added that “as a partner of Türkiye and holder of the EU presidency, we stand ready to offer our support.” In addition, Sweden donated about $650,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent in aid for Turkey and Syria.

As horrific as the tragedy is, perhaps the outpouring of sympathy and assistance for Turkey will inspire it to create greater space for dialogue and improve its relations with others in this region and elsewhere. It is to be hoped that it will take this time to rethink its policies towards the Arab region, which has shown widespread solidarity for the victims of the deadly earthquake. That said, the differences remain deep, and it could take time for Ankara to make the necessary concessions.

A positive shift in the tenor of Turkey’s relations with Europe and the US may be more difficult to expect, largely because of the multifaceted and interwoven nature of the problems. Nevertheless, the surge in humanitarian solidarity triggered by the earthquake could generate some momentum towards resolving problems that have long been the source of friction between Ankara and the Western capitals.

At the very least, this climate could contain and counter the escalatory dynamics of these tensions.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 16 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly