...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's former President Abdullah Gul has called for the country to pursue a "more realistic" foreign policy, in one of his most significant political interventions since leaving office, reports said Sunday.
Gul, president from 2007-2014, made the thinly-veiled attack on the government's foreign policy late Saturday at a fast-breaking dinner for the holy month of Ramadan also attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
.
Gul cofounded the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) with Erdogan. But tensions between the two men have been an open secret since Gul handed over the presidency to Erdogan in August 2014.
"To be frank, I think it would be beneficial to review our policies in the Middle East and the Arab world with a more realistic approach," the Dogan news agency quoted Gul as saying at the post-dinner speech in Istanbul.
"Another big development is promised in the region and if a great chaos emerges we could be faced with surprises that we never considered before," he added.
Gul said Turkey needed to go back to being an "inspiration" in the region and develop its relations with all the countries, including current foes like Egypt.
Commentators have criticized foreign policy under Erdogan for being overly ambitious, with Ankara seeking to make Turkey the central power of the Middle East as under the Ottoman Empire.
However from Egypt to Israel, Turkey has poor relations with many countries in the region and has tricky ties with the West. It has also so far failed in its aim to oust Syrian
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
.
Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has been repeatedly mocked for explaining Turkey's foreign policy as "zero problems with neighbors", with critics saying exactly the opposite is the case.