Can Turkey combine EU accession and regional leadership?

The looming deadlock in Turkey's EU accession bid stands in contrast with its increasingly active role in the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Some observers worry that Ankara is turning away from the West and is instead pursuing a 'neo-Ottoman' or 'Islamist' foreign policy.

Turkey should be able to combine its EU aspirations with its re-emergence as a regional power - provided it maintains its western bonds and continue internal modernisation.

The EU, meanwhile, must keep the membership talks moving forward while finding a way of co-operating with Ankara in foreign policy that goes beyond the narrow confines of the accession process.

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