This photograph taken on October 21, 2022, shows pedestrians walking on the crowded Istiklal street in Istanbul. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
A majority of Turkish citizens view Syria as a friendly state, while identifying Israel and the United States as their country’s primary adversaries, a new survey has revealed.
The poll by ASAL Research found 52.2 percent of Turkish respondents consider Syria a friendly country since the new government is portrayed in a positive light by Turkish media after years of conflict with the Bashar al-Assad regime.
This positive perception comes even as many Turks blame Syrian refugees for contributing to the country’s ongoing economic crisis.
Israel tops the list of perceived adversaries at 83.5 percent, followed by the United States at 74.9 percent.
The strong sentiment against Israel is largely based in Turkey’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause and widespread outrage over Israel’s military actions in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Western European nations also feature prominently as perceived enemies, with 54.9 percent of respondents viewing France negatively and 53.4 percent expressing similar views toward Germany.
Political analysts point to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s frequent references to “foreign powers” that allegedly don’t want Turkey to progress as a likely factor behind negative perceptions of Western nations.
Russia is seen as an enemy by 50.2 percent of respondents, followed by Iran at 44.8 percent, the United Kingdom at 44.3 percent and Greece, Turkey’s historic regional rival, at 43.4 percent.
Meanwhile, 37.8 percent of participants view China as friendly, reflecting growing economic ties between Ankara and Beijing in recent years.
The findings expose a deepening divide between Turkey and its traditional NATO allies amid years of diplomatic tensions.
Turkey continues to officially maintain EU membership as a strategic goal, seeks to develop defense industry cooperation with European partners and wants to play an active role in Europe’s security architecture, despite the increasingly negative public perceptions of Western powers.