A nation must think before it acts.
Director of Program on Middle East Tally Helfont Quoted in the Arab Weekly on US-Turkish Relations
Some observers said the row indicates a more fundamental chasm. “It is hard to imagine a scenario in which Erdogan’s Turkey continues in its current trajectory and bilateral relations between Washington and Ankara remain unchanged,” said Tally Helfont, director of the Programme on the Middle East at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.
US alliances, “despite all the hyperbole about friendship,” were based on such factors as shared objectives and threat perceptions, she wrote in an e-mail.
“When a key ally like Turkey not only takes such a steep autocratic turn but has also an increasing number of objectives that are at cross purposes with the United States, it should cause Washington to rethink its relationship with Ankara or at least explore how it may facilitate bringing Ankara back into the fold,” Helfont added.