decisive elections for Erdogan and for the world?

One foot in the East, the other in the West. Istanbul and Turkey have always been a meeting point between two worlds. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is effective. Sometimes provocative, sometimes mediator, he is now closer to China than to Europe. “Ukraine and Russia are both our neighbors and our friends. We are very sad that the crisis between them has turned into war.“, said the Turkish president about the Ukrainian conflict. For nine months, tens of tons of cereals from both sides have been crossing the Bosphorus Strait (Turkey). The agreement holds without too many hitches, it is the success of Turkish diplomacy.

Distended relations with Europe

Erdogan has the confidence of the two heads of state, the price of his asserted independence. In this case, the President’s action has been hailed by the whole world. But the flip side is Erdogan’s intransigence. A member of NATO, Turkey is blocking Sweden’s entry into the Alliance; a veto over which no one seems to have control. He will not give any gift to Westerners, because he believes he has been betrayed. When he came to power in 2002, he wanted his country to join the European Union, but some, including France, put all their weight on the brakes. Today, its relationship with Brussels is a permanent balance of power. He who obtained six billion euros to keep four million refugees in Turkey, constantly threatens to let them go. To date, he invests more in the Russian, Chinese or Iranian presidents, who support him in the May 14 elections.