For most of his critics, including some foreign statesmen and politicians of the Western world, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is essentially a troublemaker. Yet he tries to portray a completely opposite image.

During his speech at the UN General Assembly last month, he said Turkey was playing a key international role in helping to resolve several international conflicts. “Although Turkey is no military or economic superpower, it has emerged as a global leader by becoming part of the solution in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere,” he said. Indeed — at least in appearance — his argument holds much more water than it is portrayed as holding by his critics in the international arena.

On the way back home from New York — where he had a short audience with his American counterpart Donald Trump — Erdogan paid a visit to Berlin, where he was accorded a red-carpet welcome with full protocol, and a state banquet. Germany became the third major Western country he paid an official visit to this year. Also, he was the first foreign head of state greeted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace. That was in the first week of January. Five months later, he was received in the United Kingdom at Buckingham Palace. In Germany, he was greeted by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Schloss Belvedere in Berlin, the capital of the most influential European country he was at odds with only a year ago. The Kremlin also has been a regular visiting spot for Erdogan, where he has been welcomed by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Today, one can say Erdogan is anything but an isolated international player. Sources who did not want to be identified say both Macron and Steinmeier had extremely negative opinions about the Turkish president. However, this did not change the fact that, for a variety of reasons, they needed to engage with Erdogan.