Turkish foreign policy: Any need to be anti-Western?

Selim Yenel writes: Animosity or hate towards the West, as well as Western adoration, exist at the same time in Turkey. This is not new. However, it is unnecessary. These attitudes distract us from the essentials. The aim for Turkey should be to reach high standards in every field within the framework of fundamental rights and the rule of law.

Thursday March 25 2021 11:35 am

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (L) and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Duvar English

Retired envoy and Global Relations Forum President Selim Yenel has penned an analysis of Turkey's relations with the West, as he looked into the recent developments between Ankara and the European Union, as well as NATO.

"The anti-Western sentiments have increased recently in Turkey. The U.S. and many European countries are at the top of the polls as foes. However, the interesting contradiction is when asked where one would like to go and live abroad, it’s mostly the same these countries that are ranked first," Yenel said in his piece on YetkinReport.

"On the other hand, Turkey has forgotten or was made to forget that she is part of the West. The EU also has played an important role in this. Our relations with the EU, which spans more than sixty years, can be summed up as a series of disappointments," he added.

Yenel also said that the animosity or hate towards the West, as well as Western adoration, exist at the same time in Turkey.

"This is not new. However, it is unnecessary. These attitudes distract us from the essentials. The aim for Turkey should be to reach high standards in every field within the framework of fundamental rights and the rule of law," the former envoy noted.

You can read Yenel's piece in full here.