Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP), NATO member Turkey has walked a fine line between the West and Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
But this may change after May 14, when Turkey will hold crucial elections that could spell the end for the party’s two-decade-long stint at the helm.
According to the latest opinion polls, Kemal Kilicdaroglu—Erdogan’s primary challenger—enjoys a slight edge over the incumbent.
Responding to questions about his position on Moscow, Kilicdaroglu has vowed to pursue a “credible continuation of Turkey-Russia relations.”
“Kilicdaroglu has explicitly said that Turkey-Russia relations will not be subjected to a new test,” Aydin Sezer, a prominent political analyst, told The Epoch Times….