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Turkish Public Diplomacy Faces Challenge in Yemen

Pinar Tremblay examines the impact of Turkey's public-diplomacy efforts in Yemen and whether they should be considered "neo-Ottomanism."

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (L) and Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh shake hands following a news conference in Sanaa January 11, 2011. Gul concludes a two-day official visit to Yemen on Tuesday.  REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXWFNP
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (L) and Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh shake hands following a news conference in Sanaa Jan. 11, 2011. — REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Did you know Yemeni Kurds support Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s peace efforts with the Kurdistan Workers Party? The March 6 tweets from Yasin Aktay, a prominent pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) pundit, say they do.

Aktay was in Yemen on a diplomatic trip when he tweeted that Yemeni Kurds yearn for Turkey as their “motherland” and that they advise Turkish Kurds to stand by Erdogan “wherever he is standing.” Reading Aktay’s tweets and their baffled replies, I could not help but wonder what Turks are doing in Yemen.

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