Turkey welcomed not one but two major European leaders to its capital last week. First, the UK’s Keir Starmer, then Germany’s Friedrich Merz. For more than a decade, Turkey’s backsliding on democracy has lead to distance from Europe. But the growing threat from Russia, and Turkey’s potential role in Europe’s defense, seem to be ushering in a new era of cooperation, ironically, at the same time that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s crackdown on domestic opposition figures reaches a new peak. Deutsche Welle, DW’s Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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