Cautious optimism in Turkey's 2018 foreign policy agenda

Turkey's foreign policy had a year of transition and change in 2017.

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Cautious optimism in Turkey's 2018 foreign policy agenda
A selfish superpower's empty threats

A selfish superpower's empty threats

Clearly, the Trump administration's threats were intended to prevent the U.N. General Assembly from voting overwhelmingly to support a resolution sponsored by Turkey and others.

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Washington's decision to develop a new Middle East policy geared toward protecting Israel's narrow and ultra-nationalist interests alone created a new trend in regional affairs.

Gülenist terrorists try to do all they can to interfere in the Attila and Zarrab cases with the aim to harm Turkey

Turkey's enemies have mobilized their forces to ensure that the trial can be used against the entire country. To be clear, they take the allegations out of context in an effort to influence public opinion.

The ongoing rift between Turkey and NATO is resulting from the U.S.-led organization ignoring Ankara's concerns on its national security

Strategic shift in Washington's Syria policy

Trump's decision to stop "this nonsense" caught the Pentagon and the U.S. State Department by surprise.

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Strategic shift in Washington's Syria policy
Turkey wants to normalize relations while US does not

Turkey wants to normalize relations, while US does not

The U.S. providing shelter to FETÖ members and weapons to the PKK-affiliated terrorist group in Syria remain two main factors behind its frozen ties with Turkey

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FETÖ is a new generation terrorist group with giant parallel organizations, strict believers, subcontracting in intelligence operations and acceptance of all kinds of efforts, regardless of how malicious they are, to achieve its goals.

An invisible hand is trying to move Turkey away from Western-oriented organizations such as NATO, yet Ankara should not fall into this trap

Needless to say, the Turkish government will probably consider the second scenario an effort to meddle with the 2019 elections in Turkey.

When Daesh first emerged, the U.S. chastised Turkey for condoning it. However, while Turkey was fighting on the ground in Azaz, Jarablus and al-Bab, the U.S. did not provide enough air support.

Everyone seems to agree that Turkey-U.S. relations are going through a rough patch. Throughout history, there had been ups and downs in bilateral relations. However, the problems between Ankara and Washington at a time of global uncertainty and deepening regional conflicts are indicative of a different kind of structural crisis.

Turkey's expectations from Germany are very clear: To support Turkey in its fight against terrorism, and to end its support to the terror groups fighting against Turkey. Let us leave aside the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) and even the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and speak only of the PKK.

In particular, the successive U.S. administrations made it clear that their quest to promote "moderate Islam" was ingenuine at four points:

Despite the push to present Meral Akşener, the chairwoman of the newly established İYİ Party, as an alternative candidate against President Erdoğan in the run up to the 2019 presidential elections, Professor Duran thinks this will not translate into results, as a true candidate for the opposition parties is yet to be identified

Washington has no way to come to a mutual understanding with Ankara without changing its current policies that pose a threat to Turkey's national security.

The current crisis with the West is structural and genuine. But the talk about Turkey turning its back on the West is used for operational purposes.

Turkey rightly desires to maintain a respectable and equitable relationship with the U.S. and would not accept to be bullied for anything

The idea of "strategic partnership" - let alone what President Obama once hailed as "model partnership"- means little, if anything at all. At this point, Turks of all political backgrounds are convinced that Washington is being hostile toward their country.

Moving forward, Washington must take the time to understand Turkey's frustration and engage in qualified cooperation with Ankara in certain areas. A review of Washington's policy on FETÖ, for instance, could go a long way.