West’s favorite - Recep Tayyip Erdogan?December 13, 2011 - 18:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Majority of Time magazine readers in an online poll selected Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Person of the year 2011. Turkey's PM received over 120 thousand votes overtaking Barcelona’s forward Lionel Messi. What makes this person who continuously implements the policy of ethnic cleansing in his country’s East, a favorite in the West? Erdogan won plaudits among many in the Arab and Muslim world for his modernization policy, whilst preserving Islamic traditions and values, media reports suggest. For the past year he achieved the highest economic growth for his country in Europe, cementing Turkey’s position in the world through active participation in the “Arab spring” and strengthening ties with U.S. and NATO. Meanwhile due to the efforts of Greek, Armenian and Israeli representatives, the Turkish Prime Minister topped the list of people, least wanted to be seen on magazine cover. Thus, Erdogan’s “double victory” leaves his ranking unchanged; he remains a person who deteriorated relations with Israel, Iraq and Syria, failing to normalize ties with a number of countries including Armenia. Gohar Karapetyan / PanARMENIAN News Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. India wants Armenia’s proposals on use of Chabahar port India is expecting proposals from Armenia regarding the use of Chabahar port in Iran, Indian ambassador says. EU welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan “progress” The EU has welcomed “progress” made in the framework of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation process. Belarus opposition leader slams Lukashenko for Karabakh trip Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has harshly criticized the visit of Lukashenko to Karabakh. |