FMR US Ambassador: "Turkey's elections made it a stronger partner"

Last weekend's general elections made Turkey a "stronger partner" for the United States while underlining the two nations' mutual interests in various areas, including thorny foreign policy issues, according to former US Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson. "Turkey emerges from its election as a stronger partner for the United States – both because Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a strong mandate for continued rule and because voters denied him and his government untrammeled powers," wrote Wilson on Monday in an article on the Atlantic Council website. "Those arguing that the United States should weigh in on Turkey's internal politics – never a good idea – ought now to be less concerned. Washington's focus should be the large and ever more important outward-looking regional agenda on which engagement with Turkey is essential." On the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) winning nearly half the vote in Sunday's elections, he argued, "A confident, democratic Turkey led by a strong government that just secured a convincing – but not too large – electoral mandate will remain a vital partner in a deeply troubled region."