Newsletters
On Feb. 28, Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelenskyy paid a visit to U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. The meeting ultimately indicated a pullback from Washington regarding the war in Ukraine and indicated America's ongoing diplomatic rapprochement with Russia.
Two-days after the meeting, European leaders, including Türkiye’s Foreign Minister gathered in London to pledge their support to Zelenskyy.
In a quick shift Turkish X users have noticed that European accounts and commentators have begun writing “Türkiye” instead of “Turkey” as well as depicting images with the Turkish flag alongside European flags or having Türkiye as part of maps depicting Europe.
In one these cases, Professor Alberto Alemanno of E.U. law at HEC Paris Business Schools shared an image titled “Europe” with the Turkish flag included. The academic had previously called for suspending Türkiye’s Custom Union agreement with the E.U. in March 2020. Alemanno's post became viral with numerous Turkish accounts expressing their opinions on the matter.
https://twitter.com/alemannoEU/status/1896171038503043233
Turkish users have been quick to make jokes and raise their concerns over the matter, noticing the overnight shift of positive rhetoric from Europe. Most users highlighted Europe’s decades old support for the terrorist organization PKK, the arduous visa-screening process that Turkish citizens have to face, and the long held embargoes placed on Türkiye by NATO partners. Many also commented that Türkiye would not fight for Europe after the second-class treatment.
Several users also commented that they had no issues with Italy or Spain, as defense ties with those nations rapidly accelerates.
Turkish hsitory professor Emrah Safa Gurkan commented, "Nope. Not all colours. You would ask for 300 pages of personal, deeds, bank acounts, etc. (for a visa) to allow us to mast anyways."
https://twitter.com/jeandpardaillan/status/1897018339027034413
Speaking out on the visa issues, another comment went viral stating, "Of course, of course, we're all on the same boat. Guess I'll go join the visa appointment queue just to get onboard."
https://twitter.com/heveskargazi/status/1896994204737487017
Another X account commented, "Wait in line for a visa, Turk. Keep the refugees in your country, Turk. You're not European, Turk. The Greeks are better than you, Turk. They're not terrorists, they're guerrillas, Turk. When the egg enters the butt, save us Turk."
An independent member of Turkish Parliament representing Bursa, Burak Dalgin, also commented on the post, stating, "All of a sudden, 'we're on the same boat!' Show your sincerity by updating the Customs Union, fixing the visa mess, paving the way for the single digital market and public procurement, let's see."
https://twitter.com/bdalgin/status/1897019634911699332
While Türkiye has long supported Ukraine's territorial integrity and provided military aid, it fell short on sanctioning Russia and kept all diplomatic channels open with Moscow.
The recent change in tone has received lukewarm response regarding Europe's positive rhethoric to Türkiye.
1 min read
