In poll, Turks' views of the US, Britain and EU improve

Positive perceptions of the United States, France, Britain and the European Union have shown a marked improvement in Turkey over the past year, according to a new BBC survey. Public perceptions of the US have remained negative overall, but there was nevertheless a 22-point rise in positive views to 35 percent, according to the BBC Country Rating Poll released yesterday. It also showed a sharp 21-point drop in negative ratings to 49 percent. Turkish perceptions of the EU also improved. According to the survey of 27 countries, Turkish views went from being negative in 2010 to being positive in 2011, with a 17-point increase in positive views (46 percent) coupled with a 16-point drop in negative ratings (29 percent). The image of France, a country whose leadership opposes Turkish accession, has also improved, according to the poll. Positive views of France more than doubled over the past year, going from 17 percent in 2010 to 36 percent, while negative perceptions dropped 14 points (39 percent). As for Britain, Turkish views have also become much more favorable. Positive views rose to 41 percent (up by 23 points), while negative opinions fell 13 points (40 percent), shifting Turkey from a negative to a divided view of the UK's influence. There was also a drastic decrease in negative views on Iran. While views remained negative overall, favorable attitudes rose 23 points to 36 percent, and unfavorable attitudes dropped 9 points to 45 percent, down from 54 percent. Israel, on the other hand, became the most negatively viewed country in the survey. Some 77 percent of Turkish respondents said they had a negative view of Israel, while only 9 percent expressed a positive one.