A tweet on Aug. 19 by Ibrahim Kalin, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief foreign policy adviser and deputy undersecretary of the prime minister’s office, was hotly debated in Turkey. In the tweet he said, "It is not accurate to say that Turkey is isolated in the Middle East. But if this [is] meant as criticism, then it must be said that it is a precious loneliness." 

These words amounted to tacit admission of how, after May 2009, the duo of Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu dragged Turkey into isolation in the region and in the world, by trying to radically reshape the country’s foreign policy. The remarks reflected an effort to justify that loneliness by attributing it to a compendium of values and morality.

Then, Kalin must have felt the need to explain the "precious loneliness" concept that put him and the government in such a tough spot. He did that in an interview with pro-government daily Star on Aug. 26. In the interview, he responded to a remark that "Turkey appears to be isolated" by saying, "Sometimes you have to defend some values all by yourself. If that is to be defined as loneliness, then it is a precious loneliness. … That is value-based loneliness and therefore a meritorious position."

How was this so-called "precious loneliness" manifesting itself? Let’s recall briefly.