Anybody who thinks Turkey needs Europe more than ever to extricate itself out of its diplomatic isolation would be misguided. If there is one unequivocal consequence of Turkey’s recent dual reconciliation with Russia and Israel, it is enhanced self-confidence to stand up to the European Union.
The shortcut to standing up to the European Union does not lead to Brussels but rather to Berlin. As long as the “strong lady” of Europe professed a visible soft spot in her dealings with Turkey due to her need for a deal to stem the refugee flow across the Aegean, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan behaved relatively mercilessly toward Germany and through it, toward the EU when he felt it was necessary to alleviate the sentiments of his nationalist constituency at home or to deter the Europeans from pursuing any sort of policies that he thinks may impair Turkey’s interests.
Erdogan did not have much leverage with the Europeans. However, he now believes that he does, particularly after reconciling with Israel and primarily with Russia. His room for maneuver in foreign policy has expanded considerably. Feeling emboldened during the recent NATO summit in Warsaw, he challenged the demand of the German parliament to send a delegation to visit German military personnel deployed at Incirlik Air Base for the coalition effort against the Islamic State.
The controversy of a German parliamentary delegation visiting German military personnel at Incirlik has been looming for some time. German Defense Ministry Undersecretary Ralf Brauksiepe was denied a visit to Incirlik by Turkish authorities.
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