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European Union has vindicated Erdogan, yet again

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan didn’t give a damn about possible European Union sanctions against Turkey, and the EU has proved him right.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L), European Council President Charles Michel (C) and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) give a press conference at the end of an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, on December 11, 2020. (Photo by JOHANNA GERON / various sources / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNA GERON/AFP via Getty Images)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L), European Council President Charles Michel (C) and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) give a press conference at the end of a European Council summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, Dec. 11, 2020. — Johanna Geron/AFP via Getty Images

No need to indulge in semantics and take pains to conceal the fact: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defied the European Union — and he won.

Before the European Council summit Dec. 10-11, European Council President Charles Michel had accused Turkey of playing a cat-and-mouse game that has to stop. Erdogan retorted to the EU on the eve of the ostensibly fateful summit in a belligerent tone, saying he was not concerned about possible European sanctions as they would have no impact on Turkey. Yet he also emphasized that Turkey's strategic objective to become an EU member state remains unchanged, thereby creating false hopes and optimism. 

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