How does the West expect Turkey to be the bridge between the east and west if they don't have ties with both sides ?

Submitted by Sydney Australia (Australia), Oct 27, 2009 at 22:34

Comments such as Turks are An ally no more, or past of the new axis, or have an Islamic agenda are uninformed or prejudiced. Turkey right now is building ties with the west (EU) and the east ( the Muslim States where relationships have been sour -Syria, Iran, UAE), this scenario is similar to the USA building ties with Russia and EU currently.

Lets not forget EU is openly against Turkish membership both administratively and publicly, but Turkey is pushing on with the required reforms and managing its own public opinion.

I.e. If Turkey doesn't affiliate with and understand its neighbours and constituents well enough then it can not perform the duty of "bridge" the world and EU is expecting of Turkey. And in todays international politics one can not avoid conflicting estimation and opinions with any international agenda.

Turkey is keeping its options open, you would too if you were located in the middle of EU, Russia, Africa and The EAST.

read - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/europe/28turkey.html

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