Turkey is a legitimate independent middle power and broker

The position holds that Turkey is a legitimate, independent middle power and an indispensable broker, not a junior partner to be dictated to. Its advocates speak of an autonomous foreign policy, balanced diplomacy and convening power, with Istanbul and Antalya as venues, and defend Turkish prosecutions as legitimate and Turkey's fight against the PKK as counter-terrorism requiring full disarmament.

The position appears in coverage of Turkey as a contested regional power and a regional mediator, of Turkey's domestic politics, of the Kurdish question and Kurdish self-administration in northeast Syria, and of Turkey's rivalry with Israel. It is carried by nine publishers from Gulf and Arab countries on mediation, by seven publishers on regional power, and by a few Turkish outlets on domestic and Kurdish questions.

Two positions answer it. One holds that Erdogan's Turkey is a two-faced, hostile actor whose ambitions threaten regional stability. The other holds that Kurdish political rights and self-administration deserve protection. The events of recent months include the Mecca defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, which Trump praised, Erdogan's call to end the veto at the UN Security Council, his interest in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and the dissolution of the SDF, which Turkey welcomed while demanding proof on the ground.