Turkish Foreign Policy: Promises, Promises

The country most nervous about the sudden uncertainty surrounding the European Union is probably Turkey. Following years of promises, talks on its membership are scheduled to start in October. But for Ankara, this is just the latest in a series of foreign policy reverses that could have global implications.

The World Today Published 1 July 2005 Updated 15 October 2020 5 minute READ

Jonny Dymond

BBC's Istambul correspondent

A Turk’s only friend,’ goes a popular saying in Turkey ‘is a Turk’. With attitudes like that, the deep intermingling of foreign and domestic politics, and a fast changing regional picture, Turkey’s foreign policy is difficult to generalise about and even more difficult to predict.

One thing is a given however: Turkey’s foreign policy is important. Perhaps not as critical as it was a decade ago, and maybe not as significant as it may be in a decade’s time, but still important. Not for nothing was Turkey recently described as ‘one of the most important pieces of real estate in the world’.

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