Erdoğan scores high at G20 summit
Armed with the massive support of the Turkish people, who heroically averted a coup on July 15, and the army's success in northern Syria in bashing DAESH terrorists away from our border areas, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made quite an impact at the G20 summit as he met with world leaders and presented Turkey's position, especially on behalf of the oppressed and underprivileged peoples of this world.
Of course, the highlight of the summit was not really the event itself but the fact that President Erdoğan held successful summits with presidents Barack Obama of the United States and Vladimir Putin of Russia even before the event in China started.
With President Putin, Erdoğan held his second summit in two months and set Turkish-Russian relations on a course of full recovery, so much so that the two sides are even talking about establishing the Russian-made advanced S-400 Russian air defense system in Turkey.
Russia did not oppose the Turkish military operation in northern Syria that cleared DAESH from our neighboring border areas. Russia has also not raised its voice in our fight against the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). It seems Turkey and Russia have decided to secure the territorial integrity of Syria and prevent its division, which means the sides will cooperate in charting the future course of this country. Of course, they have to decide on the faith of the Assad regime and what happens when the Free Syrian Army (FSA), supported by Turkey, eventually faces the forces of Assad.
Russia has already lifted the sanctions against Turkey, and Russian tourists have started flocking to Turkey. Erdoğan has repeatedly thanked Putin for his economic support and for being the first leader to back Turkey after the failed coup attempt.
On the U.S front, it seems there is a better understanding in the Obama administration that the coup was a disaster for Turkey, that the Turkish people upheld supreme values and successfully defended democracy, that the Gülen Terror Group (FETÖ) is a terrorist organization that tried to stage a coup and that Turkey will not tolerate the presence of a Kurdish state in northern Syria.
Of course all this does not mean much, as Obama is a lame duck president who will be out of office in three months. Yet of course there is continuity in governance in the U.S. and that Turkey's stances are now on record. The new president will be landed with the task of not only dealing with Turkey's demands for the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, but also pushing for the investigation of FETÖ's activities in the U.S. The new president will also be required to chart a new and sensible policy for Syria where he or she does not encourage the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Syria. That means an end to U.S. support for the PYD, which is an extension of the PKK.
The new U.S. president has to see that according to a survey released by the MAK Consultancy Company, 90 percent of Turks do not trust the U.S. Only 4 percent say they agree that the Americans are trusted allies. The new president has a tough task to turn the tide, as the U.S. needs Turkey as much as Turkey needs the U.S.
The summit was also the scene of the signing of extremely important energy protocols between Turkey and China where the Chinese are now set to build a new nuclear power plant for Turkey while also cooperating with Ankara on advanced coal techniques and other energy projects.
Meanwhile Turkey's European allies got the message that Turkey is extremely unhappy with their performance not only because they failed to support Ankara properly after the coup attempt but because they continue to provide support for the secessionists Kurdish terrorists in Turkey. They have been given hints that this will be a decider on the future course of the migrant deal between Turkey and the European Union.
Of course, the highlight of the summit was not really the event itself but the fact that President Erdoğan held successful summits with presidents Barack Obama of the United States and Vladimir Putin of Russia even before the event in China started.
With President Putin, Erdoğan held his second summit in two months and set Turkish-Russian relations on a course of full recovery, so much so that the two sides are even talking about establishing the Russian-made advanced S-400 Russian air defense system in Turkey.
Russia did not oppose the Turkish military operation in northern Syria that cleared DAESH from our neighboring border areas. Russia has also not raised its voice in our fight against the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). It seems Turkey and Russia have decided to secure the territorial integrity of Syria and prevent its division, which means the sides will cooperate in charting the future course of this country. Of course, they have to decide on the faith of the Assad regime and what happens when the Free Syrian Army (FSA), supported by Turkey, eventually faces the forces of Assad.
Russia has already lifted the sanctions against Turkey, and Russian tourists have started flocking to Turkey. Erdoğan has repeatedly thanked Putin for his economic support and for being the first leader to back Turkey after the failed coup attempt.
On the U.S front, it seems there is a better understanding in the Obama administration that the coup was a disaster for Turkey, that the Turkish people upheld supreme values and successfully defended democracy, that the Gülen Terror Group (FETÖ) is a terrorist organization that tried to stage a coup and that Turkey will not tolerate the presence of a Kurdish state in northern Syria.
Of course all this does not mean much, as Obama is a lame duck president who will be out of office in three months. Yet of course there is continuity in governance in the U.S. and that Turkey's stances are now on record. The new president will be landed with the task of not only dealing with Turkey's demands for the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, but also pushing for the investigation of FETÖ's activities in the U.S. The new president will also be required to chart a new and sensible policy for Syria where he or she does not encourage the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Syria. That means an end to U.S. support for the PYD, which is an extension of the PKK.
The new U.S. president has to see that according to a survey released by the MAK Consultancy Company, 90 percent of Turks do not trust the U.S. Only 4 percent say they agree that the Americans are trusted allies. The new president has a tough task to turn the tide, as the U.S. needs Turkey as much as Turkey needs the U.S.
The summit was also the scene of the signing of extremely important energy protocols between Turkey and China where the Chinese are now set to build a new nuclear power plant for Turkey while also cooperating with Ankara on advanced coal techniques and other energy projects.
Meanwhile Turkey's European allies got the message that Turkey is extremely unhappy with their performance not only because they failed to support Ankara properly after the coup attempt but because they continue to provide support for the secessionists Kurdish terrorists in Turkey. They have been given hints that this will be a decider on the future course of the migrant deal between Turkey and the European Union.