Empire of the Ring

The visit to Turkey was the best part of the diplomacy trip.

The official schedule was two days in Istanbul, but Youngho’s party stayed for two more days.

Unlike other countries, Turkey was so familiar, especially because it was Fatima’s hometown.

They eased tensions of a tightly scheduled trip at the Four Seasons Hotel which was quite nice and relaxing. Turkey treated the Kazakh royal family and ministers with honor by sending the Turkish Foreign Minister to the hotel to pay respects as they stayed in Istanbul more than expected.

“Your Highness, you must be very pleased with the city of Istanbul.”

“This is like a mother’s home to the Queen and her siblings, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir. Turkey is Her Majesty’s hometown.”

“Then I must be Turkey’s son-in-law.”

“That’s why I ran here to treat you a nice lunch meal.”

“In Korea, a son-in-law is treated very honorably by the parents of his wife. I guess, so does Turkey.”

“That’s not really true, but any parents who have a daughter must have the same heart. Well, I hope I’m not bothering your free time with family.”

“Oh, you’re fine. I feel at comfort since the day I arrived in Istanbul. Every day here is like a vacation, so no worries.”

“That’s a relief to hear that from you. I’m worried that the huge attention drawn to you by our people might have been stressful for you.”

It seemed that the minister had something important to say but was being reluctant.

“Your Highness. If you don’t have an afternoon schedule, could you spare me an hour or two?”

“Do you have something to say?”

Turkey was now in a very difficult situation both internally and externally.

On the inside, it was relentless due to the opposition forces’ coup. And on the outside, it was being criticized by the international community for bombing Kurdish-occupied areas in Syria.

It was a huge threat to Turkey that armed Turkish militia was residing in Syria, so the Turkish government attacked the Kurdish militants to break through the unstable domestic political situation, and because of the government’s armed provocation against the Kurds, Turkey now had strained relations with the United States which was a NATO ally.

“The U.S. public support for Kurdish forces has forced us to launch airstrikes against Kurdish forces in Syria as a self-rescue plan. But that resulted in a harsh reaction of the Middle East countries. We’re facing a situation where oil supply might be cut off. ”

“Doesn’t Turkey also produce its own oil and also get supply from Azerbaijan?”

“What we can produce is only a little, also, the oil supplied through the BTC pipeline is shared with other countries like the U.S., U.K. and so on.”

“I see. That means you won’t be able to afford to supply Greece in the worst case.”

“That’s right. We might not be able to keep the promise we made to your country.”

It seemed that it would not be easy to supply oil to Greece, given the strained relations between the two countries. Youngho expected to return home without a worry, but now his plan would not be carried out as it was supposed to, due to Turkey’s airstrikes on Kurds in Syria. In fact, the Middle East countries were criticizing Turkey altogether now.

Turkey was relieved that the Kazakh royal family and ministers visited the country when they were most troubled. Their visit was an encouragement for the Turkish government which was isolated internationally now.

Youngho’s purpose of the visit was to supply oil to Greece so that he could take over Greece’s shipping company, and if oil was short, he should even consider sending oil from Kazakhstan through the BTC pipeline. Then Turkey would put more pressure on the Kurds without having to be conscious about the Middle East countries. Only the Kurds would be in trouble as a result.

” You’re also a multi-ethnic country, but you must be very reluctant giving autonomy to the Kurds.”

“Kurds occupy 20 percent of Turkey’s population. As soon as we give them autonomy, they’ll declare an independent country. How can I do that when I see the results clearly? There’s no Turk who wants Turkey to split in half.”

Most Turks did not care about the Kurdish groups residing along the border with Syria or Iraq because it was a semi-deserted and poor place. But what politicians thought must be different. The decision to give autonomy to Kurds could only be a political burden. Rather than taking that burden, politicians wanted to suppress the Kurds with military forces.

“Your country won’t be in trouble for oil or gas deficiency. We already have sufficient oil from Azerbaijan, but in the event of a contingency, we’ll supply oil from Kazakhstan as well.”

“I’m afraid we don’t have pipelines from Kazakhstan right now.”

“You can transport it to the Port of Baku on a tanker, and transfer it to the BTC pipeline there.”

“Oh! That’s a way.”

The foreign minister’s visit today was to find a measure in case the Middle East did not supply oil to Turkey.

The reason that the U.S. was supporting the Kurdish militiamen was to keep the IS at bay, but Turkey had defined the Kurdish militia as an outlawed militant group and had been carrying out air strikes day after day only to provoke the Middle Eastern countries and the U.S.

To Turkey, the Kurdish armed forces were never good news.

Kazakhstan had jumped in the middle of this strange situation. The Foreign Minister’s welcoming words said that it was the mother’s home to Fatima was only flattery.

***

“Your Highness, the timing of our visit to Istanbul is great. It’s also a chance for us.”

“I agree with Sir Eriksson. We don’t need to be wary of the Middle East, so there’s no problem supporting Turkey. We’re going to use it to show our existence.”

“First of all, it’s also a way to increase grain exports so that Turkey can keep the Middle East countries in check with its grain. Realistically, supplying Kazakh oil to Turkey is a bit overwhelming for us.”

It was a lot of work to carry oil to the Port of Baku on a tanker because all of Kazakhstan’s oil and gas were supplied through pipelines to Russia and China.

“I doubt that the Middle East will cut off oil going into Turkey, especially when Turkey is the most powerful country in the region.”

“Middle Eastern countries are also quite prideful nations. Now that Iran is criticizing Turkey, the situation worsened.”

“Can Turkey’s military power handle Iran or Saudi Arabia?”

“In comparison, both countries are no match for Turkey. Turkey is the world’s eighth-largest military power.”

“I’m afraid it’s going to be boisterous in Syria at least once. The problem is that airstrikes are already beginning.”

“Your Highness, wouldn’t Turkey ask for our help?”

“Turkey has high pride. I don’t think it will ask a favor to us so easily. Also, this is none of our business. No matter how strategic relationship we have with Turkey, the Kurdish issue is between Turkey and the Kurds.”

The independence of the Kurds was a domestic issue of Turkey only.

Youngho also was reluctant to get involved in the Kurdish problem since Jelyan was a Kurd. She was now his daughter, but she used to live in Syria.

He met her at the Kurdish refugee camp in northern Iraq.

Jelyan, who lived in Syria, lost her parents in an IS attack and was orphaned.

For hundreds of years, the Kurds were scattered around neighboring countries as the Ottoman Empire was separated into Turkey, Iran, and Iraq.

They were able to establish their strongholds in northern Iraq and parts of Syria thanks to their leading role in fighting the IS.

As of now, the Kurds were gradually expanding its political power as it secured control over Iraq’s largest oil field in negotiations with the Iraqi government.

“Your Highness, the Turkish government is at a position where it can’t make a decision. It had already attacked the Kurds, so there should be a closure, but it won’t come easily. Someone should step up to mediate that.”

“Who’s going to stand up for it when Turkey is so strong-headed that it doesn’t even listen to the U.S.?”

“The U.S. is not fit to play a mediator’s role because it supported Kurdish forces. Why don’t you step up and play the role of a mediator?”

“What?”

“Someone has to do it and Princess Zane is a Kurd from Syria. Don’t you think both sides will be convinced if you stepped in?”

“Isn’t it too far-fetched for us, especially when we’re not even a neighboring country?”

“Turkey is a brother country to us, and we have a tie to the Kurds since we have Princess Jelyan. Let’s find out the Turkish government’s intentions. It is the best if the Kazakh royal family take an initiative in this since it doesn’t have direct interests with the Turkish government and the Kurds. Don’t you have an emotional tie with the Kurds anyway?”

The only link to the Kurds was the orphans. Youngho took the Kurdish orphans to Baku and gave them a comfortable life in middle-class families in the past.

Among them, there was Jelyan, who was the Princess of Kazakhstan now. She had forgotten about her past due to war trauma and the memory of losing her little brother.

But Eriksson was now saying that this was a chance for Kazakhstan to be in the spotlight. It was a good time to elevate the status of a new constitutional monarchy.

“The Kurds now live like migratory birds all over the mountain. They are asking to become an independent state not only to Turkey but also to Iran and Iraq. The problem is that they’re only focusing on physical protest.”

“How would our presence change that situation?”

“The neighboring nations are now concerning about accepting the Kurds as an autonomous state since they have suffered and protested for a long time.”

“Then the dispute might be over soon. Would the Kurds be stopped so easily when they’re so bitter-hearted and resentful? Also, there’s no guarantee that Turkey would allow it to be an autonomous state.”

“Turkey doesn’t want this to last forever. It is in a state of civil war due to Kurds, and this will only be a hindrance to its economy. I’m sure Turkey will have no choice but to turn around.”

“It’s a relief to have Princess Jelyan, but I’m concerned that this might encourage the Kurds to move here.”

“Wouldn’t that be a good thing for both the Kurds and Kazakhstan?”

“Why is that?”

“There is no other country in the global community that has a multi-ethnic mix like Kazakhstan. This is a place where the government even gives money to find the identity of each ethnic group. If the Kurds move to Kazakhstan, they will become assimilated easily. It’s a way to grow in population and to have a skilled fighting force.”

“Skilled combat power?”