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Is Turkish Foreign Policy Paranoid?

Pinar Tremblay reports on a perception of defensiveness and paranoia that has accompanied the rise in Turkey’s power and influence.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu during a "Friends of Syria" group meeting hosted by Davutoglu at the Adile Sultan Palace in Istanbul April 20, 2013. The U.S. plans to provide about $100 million in new aid to the Syrian opposition that could mean an expansion of non-lethal military assistance for certain rebel groups to include body armor and night-vision goggles, a U.S. official said on Friday. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLI
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) during a "Friends of Syria" group meeting hosted by Davutoglu at the Adile Sultan Palace in Istanbul, April 20, 2013. — REUTERS/Evan Vucci

On April 18, a CNN Turk TV host asked Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu a question that could be summarized as, “Is Turkey left alone in Syria?”

Davutoglu responded by saying that Turkey is not isolated, but that this unfortunately was the image opposition parties and others were seeking to present of the country's leadership to the world. Davutoglu said Turkey is involved in so many important regional issues that it could not possibly be isolated.

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