News   /   Interviews

Erdogan to emerge out of coup more powerful than ever: Pundit

The image shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (c) among his cheering supporters on Saturday after crushing a coup attempt by some of military officials. ©Reuters

Press TV has conducted an interview with James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst out of Richmond, to discuss Turkey's demand from the US to extradite opposition figure Fethullah Gulen following a failed coup attempt.  

The following is a rough transcription of the interview. 

Press TV: Press TV: Although the US has stood behind Erdogan’s administration throughout this coup and is a closed NATO ally, we now see the Turkish minister accusing Washington of involvement in this coup. What do you think about the accusation and how would it affect Turkey-US ties?

Jatras: Well, it could come from a couple of places to start with Gulen who is here in the United States. He is reputed to have a long-standing relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), I don't know if that is true or not, and also it comes right after we see these moves toward rapprochement between Ankara and Moscow which is something that may not be welcomed in Washington.
So, that might fuel speculation. Now of course, Gulen himself accuses Erdogan of staging the coup as a provocation, as an excuse to seize even more power and he promises he will fight any extradition request and I believe Mr. Kerry has suggested that any request would have to be supported with proof. So, I think things are very unclear now what is going on.

Press TV:  But the Labour Minister Soleyman Soylu accused the US of being behind the coup. I want to know would you think that stemmed from that accusation?

Jatras: I think it's circumstantial as far as I can tell at this point. If they have smarter proof that the United States was behind it, I'm sure they would bring that forward. I'm certainly not discounting the accusation but I think they'll be more than just circumstantial evidence.

Press TV: And now with the coup attempt having failed or defeated I should say, who do you think has benefited from it most both inside and outside Turkey?

Jatras: The general consensus is that Erdogan has become even more powerful and rather ironically because he's saying I'm the elected leader, this is democracy, but he may be closed out to seizing what amounts to total power in Turkey which may have been his aim all along. There are some people that suggest that maybe he has been weakened somehow but frankly I don't see it. I think that he is emerging from this more powerful than ever.

Press TV: And what could be the short-term and long-term effects of this coup when it comes to Turkey's foreign policy in the region?

Jatras:  I think the short-term effect will be 'Does he continue with his move towards rapprochement with Moscow.' He's also re-established relations with Israel. He even talked about re-establishing ties with Syria. Will Turkey pull back from its support from terrorist groups in Syria? I think that's the big question right now.

Press TV: And last but not least I want to go back to the actual coup plotters. What do you think got them infuriated up to the point where this small faction of military personnel decided to stage this coup? What backed them into that corner in your view?

Jatras: There's a lot of speculation here in the United States. This is somehow the old secular Kemalist military establishment re-asserting itself and frankly I find that hard to believe because that element has been so purged from the Turkish armed forces by Erdogan. If indeed Gulen was behind this, this could be a faction within Islamist agenda but we really don't know that. Until we find out who the individuals are specifically and frankly the trials begin and we get some more evidence who is behind it will get a better sense of what their aims were.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku