We’re living through an era of big-stage diplomacy. Every week, it seems, world leaders gather at forums and emergency summits to mitigate another major crisis. And amid these global get-togethers, the size of one’s entourage – from bag-carriers to bodyguards – has become more than a matter of appearances. For some countries, it is a highly public way to display power and prestige; the bigger the entourage, the better it reflects on the finances and domestic clout of a leader and their nation.
This is particularly true in the gilded Middle East, where even minor royals travel everywhere with a retinue of acolytes and sycophants. In the US, too, with its culture of political showmanship, presidents always bring “The Beast”, a limo kitted out with armour and Bond-esque gadgets (although, given the number of assassination attempts made against US leaders, there are practical reasons for this). It’s no coincidence that Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader with a love for the grandiose, has copied the look. For other leaders, particularly in tax-heavy northern Europe, a humbler style of travel is better suited, though there is the danger that their smaller entourages will be seen as a sign of weakness by their better-padded counterparts.
Here in Turkey, we get regular insights into the mindset of leaders at the many diplomatic events that the country hosts. Last month, on a single day, it provided the neutral ground for a gathering of Nato foreign ministers and a planned head-to-head between presidents Putin and Zelensky. The low-key tone of Zelensky’s arrival matched his sartorial style: he descended the aeroplane steps alone. Vladimir Putin pulled what is arguably the bigger power move by keeping everyone guessing until the last minute – before not showing up at all.
President Erdoğan’s entourage is a key part of his image: one of the main duties of his huge squad of special advisers is to be on the tarmac to greet him every time he arrives back in the country. This massive security detail, often with dozens of vehicles, runs reasonably smoothly through the neatly planned roads of Ankara but gets jammed in Istanbul’s snarled traffic. When I saw him arrive in Sarajevo in 2018, his motorcade seemed to dwarf the city: locals stared in amazement as it passed through the streets. Erdoğan’s insistence on bringing his own security to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, and the UK’s insistence that he could not, meant that he missed the event. But while Turkey celebrates strongman culture, it is also in the doldrums of an economic crisis and Turks are increasingly furious at the amount that the country spends on Erdoğan’s entourage – reportedly millions of lira per day. Other extravagant leaders take note: your entourage only looks as good as your economy.
Lucinda Smith is Monocle’s Istanbul correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.
Two very different meetings are expected to take place today in two distant Turkish cities, both aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Nato foreign ministers will meet in Antalya, while Russian and Ukrainian leaders will be sitting face to face in Istanbul for their first such encounter since the start of the war – provided Vladimir Putin shows up. Donald Trump has been pushing for the latter meeting and might even zip over from his whistle-stop tour of the Gulf to support Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with hosting duties.
This rush of Turkish-led diplomacy burnishes Erdogan’s claim that Turkey can be a key mediating power. The country has a unique position when it comes to the Ukraine conflict: as a Nato member, it officially backs Kyiv but Erdogan has also maintained a close personal relationship with Putin, evidenced by his refusal to back Western sanctions on Russia. This has allowed Turkey to sit in the middle of sensitive talks, whether on hostage swaps or Black Sea grain deals. Erdogan wants to keep Turkey as neutral as possible. In a pre-summit meeting with Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary general, he again insisted that the military alliance should not be involved in the war.
The ousting of Bashar al-Assad in Syria has further strengthened Ankara’s hand. Turkey was a consistent backer of the political and armed opposition to Assad, and the first country to send officials to meet with the transitional government of Ahmed al-Sharaa. That makes Turkey a key link to Damascus as Western countries – including the US yesterday – begin to lift sanctions and evaluate how to deal with the new administration. Turkey has also taken part in efforts to end the resurgence of violence in Kashmir by using its diplomatic clout with Pakistan, a close ally.
As a result of all of this, Turkey is now indispensable to Europe as it tries to navigate a rapidly changing Middle East. That’s exactly how Erdogan likes things. It’s less good news for his domestic political rivals, hundreds of whom have been thrown in prison since the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in late March. A decade ago, such crackdowns made Erdogan a near-pariah in Western capitals. Today, autocratic concerns are brushed aside as he takes his seat at the head of the negotiating table.
Hannah Lucinda Smith is Monocle’s Istanbul correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.
More than a decade after the coup in Egypt that saw Turkey break its ties with the country, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met his counterpart, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, in Ankara to formally reset relations. At the top of their agenda was Palestine, with both sides saying they will work together toward a ceasefire, ensuring that humanitarian aid continues to flow into Gaza. The messaging will work in both leaders’ favour and their co-operation will help secure aid deliveries – but Erdogan’s relations with Hamas continue to hamper his efforts to present himself as a mediator.
Prior to Hamas’s 7 October massacres in Israel, Erdogan had taken steps to rebuild ties with Israel. The two countries reappointed ambassadors in August 2022 after a diplomatic break of four years. Erdogan was quick to offer himself as a go-between in the conflict but was swiftly rejected as his pro-Palestine rhetoric veered into outright support for Hamas. Following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on 31 July, the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag to half-mast, prompting fury from Israelis. Such gestures will not be forgotten, even if Erdogan reverts to a more conciliatory tone.
Sisi will also remain wary of Erdogan’s courting of Hamas. He has pursued his own crackdown on Islamist groups, in particular the Muslim Brotherhood – the group that he overthrew in 2013 and ideological bedfellow of both Erdogan and Hamas. As Israel’s neighbour, Egypt’s security calculation also varies from Turkey’s.
Nevertheless, Turkey has been a significant provider of aid to Gaza, with much of its shipments coming through the Rafah crossing from Egypt. This is the one area in which co-operation between Turkey and Egypt will be of tangible benefit to the civilians inside Gaza. While talk of pushing for a ceasefire may polish the domestic image of the two leaders, it’s these behind-the-scenes humanitarian efforts that their time should be best spent on.
Hannah Lucinda Smith is Monocle’s Istanbul correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.
