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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Such outbursts have become an Erdogan hallmark since Israel's devastating war on the Gaza Strip last year, feeding doubts -- both at home and abroad -- on what vision he is nourishing for Turkey, NATO's only mainly-Muslim member and a candidate to join the European Union.
The rupture in ties with Israel has been accompanied by an unprecedented drive by Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government for closer links with the Arab world, notably Syria.
Much to the bewilderment of Western allies, Erdogan has also jumped to the defence of Sudanese leader Omar al-Beshir, indicted for war crimes in Darfur, arguing that "no Muslim could perpetrate a genocide."
Is Erdogan turning his back on the West?
Not quite, according to Deniz Zeyrek, a foreign policy analyst at the liberal daily Radikal, who sees in Ankara's new attitudes a desire to act as a weighty mediator in conflicts in the Middle East and the Balkans, while keeping close ties with both East and West.
Despite some ostensible differences, Turkey continues to share many common interests with the United States and the pillars of its foreign policy remain unchanged, he said.
"Each time Washington has a disagreement with Israel -- like last time over the issue of settlements -- Erdogan rushes to criticise Israel," he said.
And when the moment of truth comes over Iran, Zeyrek believes, Turkey -- a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council -- will join the Western block in voting for new sanctions against the Islamic republic.
"The Turkish emancipation has limits. Erdogan is a pragmatist," he said.
Ankara's policy is based on the logic that "turning our face to the West does not mean we are turning our back to the East" -- a historic Ottoman area of influence.
Could diplomatic choices displeasing the West reflect Turkey's frustration with its struggling EU membership bid and vocal opposition to its accession by some bloc members?
"It is not that simple," said Sedat Laciner, head of the Ankara-based USAK think-tank. "The multi-dimensional ambitions of Turkish diplomacy are marked first of all by a desire for trade."
Revived contacts with Muslim nations have served to boost economic exchanges and Turkey has secured visa-free travel regimes with a series of regional countries.
Erdogan's domestic policies have also raised concern and sparked accusations that his Justice and Development Party (AKP), the offshoot of a banned Islamist movement, is aiming to build an authoritarian regime with an increased profile for Islam.
The party is currently pushing in parliament a package of constitutional amendments aimed primarily at curbing the powers of key judicial bodies, dominated by strict secularists and seen as hostile by the government.
"If these amendments are adopted, an important part of the positions still occupied by the secularist establishment will be destroyed," said Jean Marcou, an Istanbul-based French analyst.
The most dramatic blow on the secularist camp came in February when dozens of soldiers, among them senior figures, were rounded up in a probe into an alleged 2003 plan to overthrow the AKP.
Prosecutors have yet to prove that the controversial plan existed, but the staunchly-secularist Turkish army, which has unseated four governments in as many decades, has seen its traditional political clout and reputation wane.
"It is logical for a government to want to control the military," said Laciner, asking how any government could carry on under the threat of coups.
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The rupture in ties with Israel has been accompanied by an unprecedented drive by Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government for closer links with the Arab world, notably Syria.
Much to the bewilderment of Western allies, Erdogan has also jumped to the defence of Sudanese leader Omar al-Beshir, indicted for war crimes in Darfur, arguing that "no Muslim could perpetrate a genocide."
Is Erdogan turning his back on the West?
Not quite, according to Deniz Zeyrek, a foreign policy analyst at the liberal daily Radikal, who sees in Ankara's new attitudes a desire to act as a weighty mediator in conflicts in the Middle East and the Balkans, while keeping close ties with both East and West.
Despite some ostensible differences, Turkey continues to share many common interests with the United States and the pillars of its foreign policy remain unchanged, he said.
"Each time Washington has a disagreement with Israel -- like last time over the issue of settlements -- Erdogan rushes to criticise Israel," he said.
And when the moment of truth comes over Iran, Zeyrek believes, Turkey -- a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council -- will join the Western block in voting for new sanctions against the Islamic republic.
"The Turkish emancipation has limits. Erdogan is a pragmatist," he said.
Ankara's policy is based on the logic that "turning our face to the West does not mean we are turning our back to the East" -- a historic Ottoman area of influence.
Could diplomatic choices displeasing the West reflect Turkey's frustration with its struggling EU membership bid and vocal opposition to its accession by some bloc members?
"It is not that simple," said Sedat Laciner, head of the Ankara-based USAK think-tank. "The multi-dimensional ambitions of Turkish diplomacy are marked first of all by a desire for trade."
Revived contacts with Muslim nations have served to boost economic exchanges and Turkey has secured visa-free travel regimes with a series of regional countries.
Erdogan's domestic policies have also raised concern and sparked accusations that his Justice and Development Party (AKP), the offshoot of a banned Islamist movement, is aiming to build an authoritarian regime with an increased profile for Islam.
The party is currently pushing in parliament a package of constitutional amendments aimed primarily at curbing the powers of key judicial bodies, dominated by strict secularists and seen as hostile by the government.
"If these amendments are adopted, an important part of the positions still occupied by the secularist establishment will be destroyed," said Jean Marcou, an Istanbul-based French analyst.
The most dramatic blow on the secularist camp came in February when dozens of soldiers, among them senior figures, were rounded up in a probe into an alleged 2003 plan to overthrow the AKP.
Prosecutors have yet to prove that the controversial plan existed, but the staunchly-secularist Turkish army, which has unseated four governments in as many decades, has seen its traditional political clout and reputation wane.
"It is logical for a government to want to control the military," said Laciner, asking how any government could carry on under the threat of coups.
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