President Tayyip Erdogan's 'tightrope walk'

(Baonghean) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has just returned to his country after a successful visit to Russia, including a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that was considered very "harmonious." Many believe that this successful visit to Russia is not necessarily a good thing, as Erdogan will be going to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump in mid-May. But perhaps Erdogan isn't too worried, because besides the qualities that have kept him firmly in his position as President of Türkiye, he is also known as a "master" of "tightrope walking" in his relations with major powers.

Controversial leader

Tayyip Erdogan is not a name that enjoys much goodwill among international politicians – that's for sure. Despite being a high-profile politician, a formidable figure in Turkish politics since the late leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, finding articles praising him with glowing terms is truly difficult.

Articles about him often feature words like authoritarian, aggressive, and dictatorial – precisely the very elements frequently cited to explain Turkey's difficult relationship with Western countries, which consistently uphold democratic values.

Despite being controversial, Tayyip Erdogan is still being supported to become a "super president".

He has been described as a decisive leader, uncompromising with dissent, silencing those who oppose him, from a 16-year-old boy arrested for insulting the President, to a former beauty queen embroiled in controversy for sharing a poem critical of him on social media. The clearest example of this is his handling of the failed coup attempt last July.

The instigators had planned to assassinate him while he was at the Aegean resort of Marmaris. But he returned within less than 12 hours and ruthlessly dealt with those who had conspired against him, arresting nearly 50,000 people, including army officers, soldiers, journalists, lawyers, police officers, researchers, Kurdish politicians, and others. Another 120,000 people from all walks of life were also dismissed.

Despite facing considerable criticism both domestically and internationally, President Erdogan remains a president with a high level of public trust – at least more than half. The recent referendum on constitutional amendments in Turkey demonstrates this. It is widely understood that the proposed constitution, if approved, would pave the way for Erdogan to become a "super president" with immense power.

Yet, more than 50% of Turkish voters still ticked the "yes" box, and of course, they had reasons for their choice. Having served as Prime Minister of Türkiye from 2002 – one year after he founded the Justice and Development Party – and then becoming Turkey's first democratically elected president in August 2014, Tayyip Erdogan earned the trust of voters largely due to his ability to manage the country's economy. Under his leadership, the Turkish economy has grown steadily at an average rate of 4.5% per year, becoming a strong nation in both production and exports.

Inflation has always been kept under control – a remarkable achievement considering that in the 1990s, inflation sometimes reached 100%. For the sake of the country's economy, he was willing to humble himself and apologize to Russian President Vladimir Putin when Turkey "accidentally" shot down one of its fighter jets near the border with Syria.

Walking a tightrope between Russia and the US.

Since offering his apology, Erdogan has met with Russian President Putin four times to mend and develop relations between the two countries with a long and complicated history. Following their meeting in Sochi on May 3rd, Russia agreed to remove all barriers to economic and trade cooperation with Türkiye that had been in place since the downing of the Turkish fighter jet. Many believe that Erdogan's positive meeting with President Putin could displease US President Donald Trump when Erdogan visits the US on May 16-17.

Erdogan is said to share many similarities with both Putin and Trump, namely a pursuit of non-diplomatic populism and a willingness to speak his mind. However, this doesn't mean there will be a "three-person march" ahead. Nevertheless, Erdogan is confident he can find the right pace to work alongside each of them, ensuring no one leaves him behind and gets ahead.

Erdogan remains safe between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.

When the results of the referendum on the new constitution in Türkiye were announced, both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump quickly called to congratulate Tayyip Erdogan on his success. Putin's congratulatory call was not unexpected, but Donald Trump's was completely surprising.

Trump's call came as Erdogan faced criticism from European leaders over his consolidation of power, and Trump was the only Western leader to call and congratulate him. The call was meant to make Erdogan feel that the leaders of two superpowers were standing by him after this very important event in his political career.

Tayyip Erdogan understands that the US and Russia have conflicting interests, and that Türkiye could be caught in the middle of their confrontation at both regional and global levels. Leaning too heavily towards one side would jeopardize his relationship with the other. But Erdogan knows how to avoid tying Türkiye's interests to either Russia or the US in sensitive areas.

The complex situation on the Syrian battlefield is a prime example. Despite deciding to launch the Euphrates Shield military operation and send troops to Syria, Turkey justified this action as protecting its border region. This displeased the US, but it could not openly criticize it, even though the Kurdish militia that Türkiye targeted in this operation was a force backed by the US.

The same applies to Russia; it cannot deny Turkey's legitimate need to defend its borders, even though Russia's objective in the Syrian conflict is to help Assad maintain territorial integrity. Thus, Tayyip Erdogan remains safe on the fine line between Russia and the United States. With such a balanced position, there's no reason why he shouldn't expect a successful visit to the White House after his recent trip to Sochi.

Thuy Ngoc