- Mr. Uslu, what are the main motives of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's demarche in Davos?
-There are two principal issues behind Prime Minister Erdogan's behavior and statements. From the aspect of domestic policy, when Israeli President Shimon Peres said to Erdogan: "What would you do if Istanbul underwent air strikes?", Prime Minister presumably thought it would not suit his image as a leader in Turkey. After AKP came to power in Turkey opposition began to accuse Prime Minister of behaving as US and Israel say. Opposition often spoke about AKP's close relations with Washington and Tel Aviv in the rallies and on television. These accusations worried Prime Minister. Shimon Peres' speech in Davos would give extra grounds to the opposition in Turkey. That's why Prime Minister reacted so vigorously. The second reason that made Erdogan angry was David Ignatius' attempts to cut him off. It made him angry.
- Up to then Turkey had been known as a U.S. ally pro-western country and a state established basing on the principles of market economy. But after AKP came to power nonstandard directions were observed in Turkey's foreign policy: Turkey began to establish good relations with HAMAS, Iran, Sudan and other countries. Is Turkey changing its foreign policy?
-Turkey is in the transition phase now
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
