Upon assuming office in May, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim promised that he would “increase the number of Turkey’s friends and reduce the number of its enemies.” Today, however, Ankara is losing friends rapidly, especially in Europe where there are calls for sanctions against Turkey. The situation is no better in the Middle East where Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is talking about going to war with Turkey. The main deterioration in ties is nevertheless with Europe. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian manner, with his apparent desire to become the iron-fisted ruler of Turkey, is driving this downward spiral.
Yildirim’s promise was just another version of Ankara’s “zero problems with neighbors” policy formulated by former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Serious policy miscalculations, however, especially in regard to the Middle East after 2011, had left Turkey with hardly any friendly neighbors let alone zero problems with them. It did not take long for the positive expectations Yildirim generated to also be dashed. Turkey today appears to be more friendless than ever.
