Erdoğan admits his isolation in the world, says he doesn’t care

Turkish President Erdoğan (L) shakes hands with US President Obama on Sept. 6, 2014. (Photo: Cihan)

February 15, 2015, Sunday/ 12:44:43/ TODAY'S ZAMAN / Ankara

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the first time has admitted that he is isolated in he world and has sour relations with US President Barack Obama, but he says he doesn't care about being left alone as the reason for his isolation must be other leaders' envy of him.
Speaking to journalists en route to Turkey after a Latin America tour, which included Colombia, Cuba and Mexico, Erdoğan said he has the courage to speak up against difficult issues around the world but because of being outspoken, he is a target for criticism.
“I don't care about being alone in the eyes of the world. What matters is how the people view me. We saw [how people see him] during the presidential election that people sided with me. And there's no isolation when you consider other countries' people as well. Maybe there is an isolation on the level of leaders, but it's nothing other than envy,” Erdoğan said, in his remarks published in several Turkish dailies on Sunday.
As an example of why he's being left out in the world, Erdoğan mentioned the situation in Egypt. The president criticized other countries for not speaking out against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who came to power after a military coup. “When you speak out about these issues you are left alone, but not in the eyes of the people,” he said.
Erdoğan also expressed his frustration over his relationship turning sour with US President Barack Obama. He said, his relationship with Obama was good in the beginning, but at some point their relations took a different turn and that this puzzled Erdoğan.
“I had very good relations with Obama when he first came to power. We were even hosted at the White House as a family. We had one-on-one meetings. After all these talks, we see that things started to develop in a different way, which I could not understand,” said Erdoğan.
When asked about why he made his recent call on Obama to condemn the killing of three young Muslims in the US, as some considered the call too harsh, Erdoğan replied: “I don't know whether you find my statement harsh or soft. But this is unacceptable. We wouldn't remain silent if such an incident happened in our country. This is a requirement for a strategic partnership.”
Erdoğan also criticized the US for not making the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a priority. “They still want to continue with Assad,” Erdoğan said, adding that 350,000 people have died in Syria.
Erdoğan talked about his visit to Mexico and said that Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto received US help to get into office. He said he talked about the presidential system in Mexico in detail with Nieto. Erdoğan said that Nieto supported him on the need for reform at the UN Security Council. Erdoğan believes the UN body needs to include more than five permanent members and certainly Muslim countries should be represented in the UNSC in order to overcome the one-centered world order based on the West's values.
Erdoğan said he also talked with the Mexican president about a “parallel state” nested within the Turkish state allegedly under the control of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who lives in the US. Erdoğan admitted that Nieto didn't know about the issue. Following the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption and bribery scandal that implicated a number of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) members, including four ministers and their relatives, Erdoğan began to talk about a "parallel state" and foreign powers trying to topple the Turkish government. Erdoğan also wants foreign governments to close down Turkish schools abroad with links to the Gülen movement, a faith-based initiative also known as the Hizmet movement.
The president had cut short his Latin America visit and came back to Turkey one day early on Friday. When asked about the reason behind this change, he said there was no reason to stay away more than necessary. Mexico was the last stop for him and he was scheduled to visit the pyramids of Teotihuacan on Friday. But the trip was cancelled. Prior to Mexico, Erdoğan visited Colombia and Cuba.
The president also said he doesn't think it's right for Turkey to buy coal from Colombia. He said the trade volume between Turkey and Colombia is mostly coal imports at $700-800 million. “We should use our own coal,” Erdoğan stated.
On Cuba, Erdoğan expressed his admiration of the presidential palace and said it may be more expensive than his. Erdoğan also said he requested to meet with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, but it was not possible due to Castro's health.
When told by the journalists that his meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro was a meeting between two revolutionaries, Erdoğan said: “What is important is the revolution of people. Not an armed revolution. People make a revolution at the ballot box. Otherwise, an armed revolution is not a revolution