The American newspaper “Politico” included Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom it described as a “mediator”, among “the most powerful figures in Europe 2024.”
The newspaper prepared a list of 28 names from Europe for “Europe’s Most Powerful Personalities 2024” and classified them into 3 separate categories.
The Turkish president ranked fifth in the “Doers” category, and the newspaper described him as a “mediator.”
The newspaper mentioned in a profile of the Turkish president published on its website that he had sought to present himself as a “strong geopolitical leader” for a long time, and had survived a failed coup attempt in 2016.
It reported that Erdogan “recently made the most of the two biggest geopolitical crises, which are the Russian-Ukrainian war and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.”
His role in Ukraine and Gaza
It added: “Erdogan is one of the few people who have connections to the Kremlin and the Ukrainian president’s office at the same time, and he has assumed the mediation role since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his forces to Ukraine in 2022.”
It also pointed out that the Turkish President led the grain shipping agreement through the Black Sea and strove hard for its continuation.
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It noted that after the Hamas attacks on the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip on October 7, Erdogan again wanted to play the role of “mediation.”
It explained that he held de-escalation talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as the leaders of Egypt, Lebanon and Qatar.
Erdogan later sided with Palestine, describing Israel as the “occupier,” and stressing that “the West is the real culprit behind the massacre taking place in Gaza,” according to Politico.
“European officials are discussing ways to enhance cooperation with Erdogan”
The newspaper reported that Erdogan tried to bring himself back into the European Union’s orbit and used Sweden’s membership path in NATO to “depart” from the long-stalled path of Turkey’s membership in the European Union.
It pointed out that European Union membership is not currently being discussed in Turkey, and added: “However, European Union officials are looking for ways to enhance cooperation with Erdogan. This can be considered another geopolitical victory for the Turkish leader.”
In the same category, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ranked first, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ranked second, French President Emmanuel Macron ranked third, and the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, ranked fourth.
Erdogan was followed by European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, far-right Marine Le Pen, who competed in France’s presidential elections last year, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and Britain’s main opposition Labor Party leader, Keir Starmer.
