London summit exposes Turkey’s isolation, lack of clout in NATO
Seasoned diplomats say despite Ankara’s tarnished image in the alliance, Turkey has confirmed its Western orientation.
The results for Ankara from NATO's recent London summit continue to reverberate in Turkey.
The opposition believes the summit produced one of the greatest diplomatic fiascoes for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Opinion among supporters of the government is also divided when it comes to Turkey's participation in NATO. Burhanettin Duran of the government-sponsored SETA think tank wrote in Daily Sabah, “The London summit demonstrated yet again the crucial nature of Turkey's place in the NATO alliance and gave Ankara a new opportunity to convey its key messages to the group.”
Ibrahim Karagul, the firebrand editor-in-chief of the pro-government Yeni Safak, heads the group that takes the opposing view. Karagul is among those who believe that NATO poses the greatest threat to Turkey and argued that Ankara got no support in London from its allies against Kurdish terrorism.
