Turkey’s all-powerful President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the inaugural session of the country’s recently defanged parliament today, throwing punches at the United States and vowing to wipe out Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq and to further cooperation with Russia and the European Union. The speech dispelled any illusions that Erdogan, tempered by Turkey’s ailing economy, may be shifting course in any meaningful manner or anytime soon.
His salvoes against Washington over its continued partnership with Syrian Kurdish militias and what he called the unlawful case against Turkish state lender Halkbank over its central role in busting US sanctions against Iran bode ill for Andrew Brunson, the North Carolina pastor being held in a Turkish prison on outlandish terror and espionage charges.
