On Oct. 19, the 71-day captivity of two Turkish Airlines pilots came to an end. Murat Agca and Murat Akpinar were kidnapped in Beirut on Aug. 9 by people who aimed to prod Turkey to increase its efforts for the rescue of nine Lebanese pilgrims, who had been kidnapped in Syria in May 2012. After a complicated negotiation process, a swap deal was made possible, also because of the Syrian regime's cooperation as it agreed to free some female prisoners. 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the two pilots home on Istanbul Ataturk Airport's tarmac, posing for a happy photo with their families. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu tweeted, as Agca and Akpinar were on their way to Turkey: “The success of this process, which our prime minister led, once again proves Turkey's regional importance.”

Turkey is certainly an important country in the region, and it is only good news that these pilots have returned safely to their loved ones. But it is nonsensical to use this moment to prove the righteousness of the Erdogan-Davutoglu policies in Syria, as the opposition to Turkey’s Syria policy vehemently argues now that if Turkey were to be so right about its role in the region, these pilots would not have been kidnapped in the first place. Counterarguments subsequently arise, claiming that there is always a price to pay for big powers. This vicious cycle may become too poisonous to add any value to the real debate about Turkey’s standing in the region.

It may be a wiser choice to simply celebrate the safe return of these Turkish pilots and keep this issue from becoming a domestic matter. After all, there is an undeniable truth that the kidnappings of Turkish citizens were not an issue in the region two or three years ago. It is now a problem. However, Turkey’s ambassador to Beirut, Inan Ozyildiz, is hopeful that this will help improve the security concerns of Turkish citizens in Lebanon.