MOSCOW, May 29 Turkish opposition is unlikely will intensify and become more active after the victory of the current leader of the country, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the presidential elections, Andrey Baklanov, professor of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, said.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the second round of Turkish presidential elections with more than 52% of the vote, Ahmet Yener, head of the Turkish High Electoral Commission, said on Sunday evening. The final results of the elections will be published no earlier than June 1.
«There is no reason to believe that the results of the elections will lead to the fact that the opposition will cheer up, strengthen and so on. It will be quite difficult for them to do this, because, of course, Erdogan uses the results of even such a minimal advantage, like «mandate from the people», Baklanov said.
The expert noted that the opposition in Turkey missed its chance and Erdogan will strive to strengthen his position as much as possible, which showed the incompleteness of dominance in the country. The Turkish leader may covertly begin to pursue a tougher policy towards the Kurds in response to support for the opposition. «He will do it very difficult and very non-obvious, and not immediately. Of course, he will «tighten the screws,» Baklanov said.
At the same time, according to the expert, despite the fact that the States initiated a cooling of relations with Erdogan, in particular, by supporting the opposition, the Turkish leader will expect the United States to change these relations.
«And he will be ready to go, because in general his course is Atlantic, the course of cooperation with NATO as the main strategic partner for the future,» — the expert added.
Baklanov stressed that if Erdogan distances himself from the United States, it will most likely be forced if Washington continues its current course of policy with Ankara, since in general he supports NATO on key issues and maintains close ties with the West.