Airport attack comes just as Turkey tries to rebuild bridges

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — When he took office in May, Turkey's prime minister declared it was time for the country to put its international affairs in order and reclaim its place as an oasis of stability in a war-torn region.

While any direct link between the attack and Turkey's reconciliation efforts is uncertain, there is no doubt that it has a destabilizing effect on a country where a renewed conflict with Kurdish separatists and a spate of attacks by the IS group have kept tourists and investments away.

Relations between Israel and Turkey began to decline after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has Islamist roots, became prime minister in 2003 and got even worse when he criticized Israeli operations against Palestinians.

The same day that deal was announced, Erdogan sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing regret over an incident seven months ago where Turkey shot down a Russian jet on a mission in Syria, triggering a slew of Russian sanctions that have dealt a blow to the Turkish economy.

In the Syrian conflict, Turkey has been accused of supporting Jihadist groups in a bid to bring about Syrian President Bashar Assad's ouster, a move critics say helped exacerbate the civil war and cause the refugee crisis.