US analyst: "Turkey is now a global power, and the west must realize this"

Turkey is no longer a "loyal ally" of the West, but though it no longer pursues Western foreign policy prescriptions, the West will benefit from Turkey's actions on the international stage, said Graham Fuller, former deputy chairman of US Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) National Intelligence Council (NIC), this week. Speaking to the BBC Turkish Service, Fuller said he agreed with US journalist Stephen Kinzer that Turkey can go places where the US can't, can talk to people the US can't, and can make deals that the US is unable to. "We can't just say that Turkey can do all this, but we should also say that Turkey has already been doing all this, and will continue." Stating that US foreign policy makers who expect Turkey to act in line with a particular US strategy on a particular issue at any time will be frustrated because they can no longer manipulate Turkish foreign policy directly, Fuller said, "If they manage to act wisely, they will see that such activities carry great importance for setting up genuine, self-developed regional alignments." Stressing that the West has to accept that Turkey has diversified its foreign policy into new horizons, Fuller said, "Turkey is no longer seen a country that represents US interests in its region through NATO. Turkey has interests all across its region. It wisely pursues these interests in light of the geopolitics of the region based on a win-win approach. This policy helps ease and solve some longstanding tensions in the region." Stating that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) appreciates the historic and geopolitical role that the Ottoman Empire played in the region, Fuller added that Turkey's current role extends beyond that of the Ottomans. Fuller also claimed that future Turkish governments would continue the main lines of current AK Party foreign policy.