Economics
Conspiracy or Not, Turkey’s Ties to West Are at Risk
What was once unthinkable has become possible as Erdogan hits out against the U.S.
A massive Turkish flag is illuminated in Cyprus.
Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images EuropeThis article is for subscribers only.
From his fish shop in Istanbul's Kasimpasa district, Mustafa Bir is gripped by a U.S. courtroom drama that he says just proves what he suspected all along: the Americans are out to get Turkey.
Bir has been following the New York trial that last week implicated Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an alleged multi-billion dollar conspiracy to undermine U.S. sanctions on Iran. For people in the gritty streets where the Turkish president grew up, it's further proof of a plot by the U.S. to overthrow a NATO ally's democratically elected leader and bring a weakened Turkey to heel.