| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government was reelected in July 2007, Erdogan made a calculated decision to shift his foreign-policy focus away from his NATO allies in Europe, where Turkey's European Union membership application had been long stalled. He cast his glance eastward, toward the Middle East, with the intention of establishing himself as the region's preeminent leader and positioning Turkey as the indispensible link between west and east. In April of that year, Erdogan visited Damascus, where he called upon Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad. By all accounts, the two leaders became fast friends. A few months later, the two vacationed together in Bodrum, a beautiful vacation hot spot on Turkey's Aegean Sea coast, where they were joined by their first ladies, Asma and Emine, who also appeared friendly.
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