Opinion: “Turkey’s Erdogan Is in the Fight of His Political Life” Writes Elmira Bayrasli for CNN

Turkey’s 2023 presidential election, held on Sunday, was the hardest-fought race that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has faced in decades and is now headed to a runoff between Erdogan and his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. For CNN, Elmira Bayrasli, director of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program in New York City, traces Erdogan’s rise to power, his more combative orientation towards the United States and Europe, and his close alliance with Putin. “Whether Erdogan wins or loses, Ankara is unlikely to untangle itself from Moscow and turn back to the West,” she posits. In her opinion, “Washington and Brussels have to recognize that Turkey is a country literally and metaphorically at the crossroads. Not entirely in the West or the East, it is positioned to be both a difficult and useful partner.”

Post Date: 05-16-2023