May 28, 2023, 8:11 a.m. ET
May 28, 2023, 8:11 a.m. ETPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, left, and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia share an authoritarian streak and confrontational attitudes toward the West, emphasizing historic grievances against other world powers.Credit…Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Sputnik
Officially, Western governments will not talk about their preferences in Turkey’s elections, to avoid being accused of interfering in another nation’s internal politics. But it’s an open secret that European leaders, not to mention the Biden administration, would be delighted if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lost.
As Carl Bildt, the former Swedish prime minister, said before the first round of voting two weeks ago: “We all want an easier Turkey.”
A strategically important member of NATO, Turkey under Mr. Erdogan has become an increasingly problematic partner for the European Union, which has largely abandoned the idea of Turkish membership.
Russia also has a lot to do with the outcome of the election. Under Erdogan, Turkey has become Russia’s indispensable trading partner and sometimes diplomatic broker, a relationship that has taken on even greater importance for the Kremlin since the invasion of Ukraine.
Throughout his 20 years in power, Erdogan has pursued a non-aligned foreign policy that has often frustrated his supposed Western allies and provided a welcome diplomatic opening for Moscow, perhaps never more so than after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
By refusing to enforce Western sanctions on Moscow, Erdogan has helped undermine efforts to isolate the Kremlin and deprive it of funds to secure the war. At the same time, Turkey’s stumbling economy has recently reveled in deeply discounted Russian oil, helping Mr Erdogan in his quest for a third five-year term as president.
Mr Erdogan has further angered his allies by blocking Sweden’s bid for NATO membership, insisting that Stockholm first hand over dozens of Kurdish refugees to the country, particularly from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which both Ankara and Washington consider a terrorist organization.
More broadly, for the European Union and Washington, there is a strong sense that Turkey under Mr. Erdogan has moved further away from European values and norms such as the rule of law and freedom of the press.
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