Erdogan Keeps Eye on Elections by Ducking Islamic State Bullets
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Turkey’s insistence on a secure no-fly zone in Syria in the face of international opposition may say more about domestic politics than keeping the country out of the gun sights of militants.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled for June, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan trying to avoid “fighting Islamic State and retaliatory bombings by Islamic extremists that could have political setbacks for the government,” Nihat Ali Ozcan, an analyst at the Ankara-based Economic Policy Research Foundation, said on Nov. 3.