Erdogan’s priority is returning Turkey to Islamic ways

Significance

The suspension of Turkey’s exploratory activities in the eastern Mediterranean as scheduled eases tensions with Greece and could allow for diplomacy. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to talk tough, but he mixes the territorial issue with promises to revive Turkish traditional values at home. That, more than foreign adventures, is his underlying goal.

Impacts

• Turkey will review possible sanctions in the waterways it controls in the Turkish Straits.
• Erdogan will step up hostility towards France while relations with Iran and China will be upgraded.
• Turkish-US relations would be frozen under a Biden presidency.