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Turkey’s opposition foreign policy promises gradual departure from Erdogan’s

Turkey’s opposition alliance vows to prioritize diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in Ankara’s foreign ties, yet it might adhere to policy continuity on many issues should it win the elections next month.
Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman and Presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaks during a rally in Canakkale, western Turkey, on April 11, 2023.
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A return to “factory settings” in Turkey’s foreign policy and defusing tensions in international ties are key elements in the election platform of the country’s opposition bloc, but it might well maintain existing policies in some areas should it win the May 14 polls.

A policy continuity is likely to be seen in the energy rivalry in the eastern Mediterranean and Turkey’s territorial disputes with Greece, even though the six-party Nation Alliance is expected to prioritize diplomacy and abandon the confrontational style that has marked Turkish foreign policy under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the past decade.

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