West losing its allure among Turks

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NICOSIA, Cyprus -- A survey has found that popular support is weakening in Turkey for NATO and European Union membership and in favor of Iran -- adding to the government's troubled relations with the West.

For the time being, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not hinted at any radical policy shift following the Transatlantic Trends survey by the Washington-based German Marshall Fund of the United States.

But diplomats in Ankara generally agree there is "a considerable cooling to the West" and that Turkey's traditionally steadfast commitment to the alliance might suffer.

They attribute the dramatic change in the popular attitude to increasing difficulties in Turkey's EU accession talks and disapproval of U.S. policies in Iraq.

According to the annual Transatlantic Trends survey, only 20 percent of Turks support the United States, while backing for EU membership has declined from 73 percent in 2004 to 54 percent.

Support for NATO, which Turkey joined in 1952, has declined from 56 percent two years ago to 44 percent now.

The survey also stated that a "significant minority" of Turkish respondents felt that Iran was entitled to seek nuclear weapons, an issue that has marred international diplomacy in recent months.

"Silently yet effectively, Turkey is redefining its foreign policy orientation in view of its newly discovered strategic depth," said Suat Kiniklioglu, director of the Ankara office of the German Marshall Fund. "Formally, Turkey remains in the Western camp, but it is increasingly the odd man out."

Complicating the Erdogan government's maneuvering is an increase in guerrilla and terror attacks by autonomy-seeking Kurdish factions, one of which, the Kurdish Freedom Falcons, has vowed that "the fear of death will reign everywhere in Turkey."

Among the latest attacks were bomb explosions in Mediterranean seaside resorts, causing concern about the future of Turkey's lucrative tourism industry, one of the pillars of its economy.

Last month, the United States appointed Joseph Ralston, a retired Air Force general and former NATO supreme commander in Europe, as a special envoy to coordinate efforts by Turkey and Iraq to fight terrorist activities by Kurdish extremists. The Turkish government welcomed the appointment.

Turkey's latest setback in efforts to join the European Union was a report last week by the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, which challenged the pace of promised reforms, including insufficient progress on freedom of expression, violence against women, corruption and efforts to ease the plight of religious and ethnic minorities.

On Saturday, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, a presidential candidate, bluntly told his supporters there was no room for Turkey in the 25-member union and called for a "privileged partnership" formula instead.

Another roadblock in the path of accession talks is Turkey's unswerving refusal to extend a binding trade protocol to allow Greek Cypriot ships and aircraft to use Turkish airports and harbors. Turkey refuses to recognize the Greek Cypriot government without major concessions to the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.