site.btaPresident Erdogan's Inimitable Style: from Ping-pong to Foreign Policy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan undoubtedly has a distinctive style, and not just in government. His plaid jackets have established his own style in fashion and a few years ago were the subject of lively discussions of designers and stylists not only in Turkey. In 2010 he patented as his own brand the first letters of his name - RTE. His inimitable style in the game of table tennis has recently become a topic of discussion on social media, after he was recently filmed playing first with students and then with the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The unusual way in which the Turkish leader holds the ping-pong paddle - from the wide part instead of the handle - does not correspond to the grip of either the European or Asian ping-pong school. This provoked comments on social media and even malicious remarks from political opponents.

"As he holds the paddle, so he runs the country," opposition Good Party MP Aytun Ciray wrote on Twitter. Many on the Internet described the move as "local and national" - a tease of Turkey's efforts in recent years to replace imports with "local and national" products in the defence industry and other sectors of the economy.
Turkey's foreign policy course under President Erdogan also has a specific style - zigzagging. In recent years, the country has found itself virtually isolated after severing ties with most regional powers in the Middle East and significantly straining ties with the West. Now, however, Ankara has taken a sharp turn in the opposite direction and has set out to melt the ice on all fronts. The country's skillful maneuvering in the conflict in Ukraine has scored points for the EU and the United States. Additionally, in recent months, Turkey has begun to open a new page in its relations with countries such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and recently even talked about possible reconciliation with Damascus.

Turkey, once known as "Israel's closest ally in the Muslim world," has seriously deteriorated its relations with the Jewish state in recent years, despite strong trade ties. After months of escalating tensions in May 2018, Turkey returned its ambassador from Israel and expelled the Israeli ambassador from Ankara. Recently, however, the two countries have taken steps towards reconciliation - the Israeli president visited Turkey in early March, and on May 25, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Israel.

Pragmatism has taken precedence over ideology in relations with Egypt as well. Ankara has suspended diplomatic relations since the 2013 military coup against President Mohammed Morsi and refused to recognize Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as the leader of the Arab country. Last year, however, Erdogan announced the start of contacts between Ankara and Cairo, and recently justified the change in foreign policy, stressing that Turkey would gain nothing by completely severing ties with Egypt and Israel.

Similar processes are under way with regard to relations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Ankara and Riyadh have demonstrated a common will to develop bilateral relations at the highest level. These intentions were boosted by the transfer to Saudi Arabia of the Turkish trial in the case of the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in 2018 - a case that cooled relations between the two regional powers and shocked the world with its brutality. Heartfelt photos from the Turkish President's visit to Riyadh last month were a clear signal that this "misunderstanding" remains a thing of the past for both sides.

Turkey also has put differences with the UAE behind: in February, Erdogan visited the Emirates for the first time in nearly a decade, turning his back on power struggles, disagreements over the Libyan conflict, the blockade of Qatar and even doubts about the UAE's role in Turkey's coup. Earlier in November, UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Turkey, a visit that Erdogan said marked a "new era" in bilateral relations (as well as investments in Turkey of 10 USD billion).

Erdogan described these turns in Turkish foreign policy as "a process of making friends, not enemies", adding that Turkey needs to improve relations with countries with which it shares "common beliefs and opinions". How far this process will go remains to be seen, but one thing seems certain - the Turkish leader will continue to rule the country in his own style at least until next year's elections.