Turkey is increasingly becoming a wayward ally of the West

Turkey used to be a stalwart member of Nato and a trusted ally of the West which, for years, wanted to be accepted into the European Union family. But President Erdogan, having destroyed the coup against him, is now a wayward, unreliable, slightly scary partner who seems to spend more time shaking hands with the likes of Vladimir Putin than getting on the phone to the US or to leaders in Europe. The latest snub by the Turkish leader is to do with Venezuela. The US and Europe have, somewhat bizarrely, rejected the presidency of Nicolas Maduro (that's good) and hailed as the real president the young Juan Guaido (that's good too, although not exactly "legal" and a bit ad hoc). It's a strange way of doing diplomatic business, a bit like saying "Hey we don't like Putin so we no longer recognise him as the legitimate leader and from now on will deal only with Alexei Navalny (anti-Putin opposition leader)". However, it's a brilliant way of getting the message across to Maduro that it's time he stepped down and lived in exile in Outer Mongolia, never to be heard of again. But Turkey has instantly sided with Russia and China, dissing its friends in the West. Russia and China actually support Maduro and his brutal repressive regime because it suits their game plan for the world. They don't care about the ravages Maduro has caused to his country, they don't care about the billions of dollars he has stolen from the country's coffers and handed out to his family, all they care about is that Venezuela is nicely placed on the map to give them political leverage vis a vis the United States. But Turkey? Why is Erdogan supporting Maduro? Erdogan is a political manipulator and autocratic by nature and instinct and he probably has a sneaking regard for the oversized Venezuelan leader. Whatever the reason, Turkey, Russia and China are lined up against the US and Europe and will no doubt do whatever is required to keep the nice Maduro in power. I hope they're all proud of their support for a man who has literally destroyed the lives of every single Venezuelan who isn't wearing a military uniform. Will this help Turkey to join the EU? I think not. Even Boris Johnson who has been espousing Turkey's EU cause for years, is probably now thinking again. Although once we leave the EU under whatever Brexit fix is agreed between now and March 29, we Brits won't have a say in whether the Turks should be allowed to join or not.