Erdogan promotes Turkey as unfettered independent power
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Instead   Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan  had barely landed in Athens earlier this month before  he  rattled  his  Greek hosts by addressing a series of disputes  and calling into question a crucial treaty that delineates the two countries' borders and sets the status of their minorities.
 His  confrontational stance was one Erdogan's Western allies have become increasingly familiar with  as Turkey's president goes  his  own way  unfettered by collective goals and seeking to promote  his  country as a force to be reckoned with.
"I think he's better than previous leaders  at least with Muslim countries " Yilmaz Demiroz  a 48-year-old landscape gardener in Istanbul  said of  Erdogan . " He  has the clearest stance from all the leaders I've seen."
For their part  Europeans have been aghast at the results of  Erdogan 's crackdown after the attempted coup  which has seen 110 000 people fired from their jobs  and about 50 000 more jailed on suspicion of even the most tenuous of links to Fethullah Gulen  the US-based Islamic cleric  Erdogan  blames for the putsch.
Turkey's relations with the US have fared even worse  fueled by accusations from Ankara that Washington is seeking to deliberately undermine it  both by harboring Gulen and due to an ongoing New York trial of a Turkish banker over alleged transactions with Iran that threatens to implicate  Erdogan 's government. How US-Turkish ties will develop is unclear  analysts say.
As relations have cooled with the EU and Washington  they have seemed to warm with Moscow and Tehran.  Erdogan  and Russian President Vladimir Putin have met several times so far this year  and Tukey recently signed a deal to purchase Russian S-400 missiles. The move horrified NATO  of which Turkey has been a member since 1952.
"Russia can only play a supplementary role with regard to Turkey's economy " said Filis. "Although  Erdogan  finds it easier to communicate with Putin  because they're both authoritarian  I don't think that in the long term Russia can replace the West in terms of security and in terms of the economy."
Ozkan shared the view  nothing that with Turkey drifting toward authoritarianism   Erdogan  was trying to redefine relations that limit liberal  outside influences and increase  his  negotiating power.
"There have been lots of reports about Turkey leaving the West and making an alliance with Russia. And I don't think this reflects reality " he said. "I don't think that  President Erdogan  wants Turkey to leave the western camp. .... (the) Turkish economy simply cannot survive without western investment. And Russia doesn't have that financial power."
"Is Europe going to accept  Erdogan  as  he  is  or is Europe going to force  him  to change  according to European standards?" questioned Ozkan. "That's the biggest issue."
Instead    [TGT] had barely landed in Athens earlier this month before   [TGT]   rattled   [TGT]   Greek hosts by addressing a series of disputes  and calling into question a crucial treaty that delineates the two countries' borders and sets the status of their minorities.
  [TGT]   confrontational stance was one Erdogan's Western allies have become increasingly familiar with  as Turkey's president goes  his  own way  unfettered by collective goals and seeking to promote  his  country as a force to be reckoned with.
"I think he's better than previous leaders  at least with Muslim countries " Yilmaz Demiroz  a 48-year-old landscape gardener in Istanbul  said of  [TGT]  . " He  has the clearest stance from all the leaders I've seen."
For their part  Europeans have been aghast at the results of  Erdogan 's crackdown after the attempted coup  which has seen 110 000 people fired from their jobs  and about 50 000 more jailed on suspicion of even the most tenuous of links to Fethullah Gulen  the US-based Islamic cleric   [TGT] blames for the putsch.
Turkey's relations with the US have fared even worse  fueled by accusations from Ankara that Washington is seeking to deliberately undermine it  both by harboring Gulen and due to an ongoing New York trial of a Turkish banker over alleged transactions with Iran that threatens to implicate  Erdogan 's government. How US-Turkish ties will develop is unclear  analysts say.
As relations have cooled with the EU and Washington  they have seemed to warm with Moscow and Tehran.   [TGT] and Russian President Vladimir Putin have met several times so far this year  and Tukey recently signed a deal to purchase Russian S-400 missiles. The move horrified NATO  of which Turkey has been a member since 1952.
"Russia can only play a supplementary role with regard to Turkey's economy " said Filis. "Although  [TGT]  [TGT] finds  [TGT]  easier to communicate with Putin  because  [TGT] 're both authoritarian  I don't think that in the long term Russia can replace the West in terms of security and in terms of the economy."
Ozkan shared the view  nothing that with Turkey drifting toward authoritarianism   Erdogan  was trying to redefine relations that limit liberal  outside influences and increase  his  negotiating power.
"There have been lots of reports about Turkey leaving the West and making an alliance with Russia. And I don't think this reflects reality " he said. "I don't think that  President Erdogan  wants Turkey to leave the western camp. .... (the) Turkish economy simply cannot survive without western investment. And Russia doesn't have that financial power."
"Is Europe going to accept  Erdogan  as  he  is  or is Europe going to force  him  to change  according to European standards?" questioned Ozkan. "That's the biggest issue."