The confrontation in Turkey has revealed a new disagreement between the US and the EU

The detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on March 19 caused mass protests throughout Turkey and even clashes with the police. His associates from the Republican People's Party, the country's main opposition force, which is popular in major cities and is seeking to oust the ruling Justice and Development Party, stood up for the Istanbul mayor.

On the evening of March 19, the leader of the Republican People's Party, Ozgur Ozel, in an address to the crowd gathered in front of the Istanbul Municipality, made a number of resonant statements:

"I call on 86 million people to object, raise their voices, make themselves heard and stand up... Millions of us will take to the streets and vote on Sunday… There will be two ballot boxes: one for CHP members and the other for those who want to demonstrate solidarity with our next President Ekrem Imamoglu… This is a coup attempt. What happened on March 19 was an attempted coup. The will of the people is usurped through a judicial act."

Another party member of the Istanbul mayor, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavash, also called on 20 March to participate in the nomination of Imamoglu as an opposition candidate for the presidential elections (de jure they should be held in 2028, but the opposition would like to hold them ahead of schedule):

"We will all go and vote together on Sunday."

In response to the accusation of a "civil coup" made by Ozel, on March 20, the representative of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, Omer Celik, said:

"Mr. Ozel's use of such terms once again testifies to a serious problem with political literacy in the RNP, since these concepts should not serve as the basis for any political assessment."

Celik also verbally counterattacked the leader of the RNP:

"Instead of attacking us, Mr. Ozel should formulate his position on these accusations. Is he saying that he believes these accusations are false? Does he say publicly: "If the accusations turn out to be true, I will resign as party leader"? ... The real civil coup is being carried out by the RNP itself. Prematurely announcing who will be their presidential candidate, Ozel undermines the will of the party's delegates. This is a direct attack on democracy… When Mr. Ozel took office, we were full of hope. And again we see that our hopes were in vain."

The authorities also answered Ozel. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya called Ozel's call to take to the streets for protest actions irresponsible. At the same time, he said that 6 policemen were injured during the demonstrations. Similar statements were made by the Minister of Justice Yilmaz Tunc, who promised to familiarize the public with the claims, challenges and evidence.

Although the leader of the CHP announced the peaceful nature of the struggle, which does not provide for retreats, the current political confrontation goes far beyond the borders of Turkey. The detention of the Istanbul mayor exposed the existence of additional contradictions within the West. This is indicated by a different reaction to this event. So, on March 19, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany said:

"Today's arrest of Istanbul Mayor and prominent opposition figure Ekrem Imamoglu, as well as more than 100 other people, represents a heavy blow to democracy in Turkey. Protecting the rights of elected representatives of the people is an essential part of maintaining the rule of law. Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe and a candidate for membership in the European Union, and in this regard, the Turkish government must protect the fundamental principles of democracy and the rule of law to which it is committed."

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Berbok also criticized the Turkish authorities. A similar joint statement was made by representatives of the European Union Kai Kallas and Marta Kos:

"Today's detention of Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu, as well as the arrests and charges brought against elected officials, political activists, representatives of civil society and business, journalists and others since the beginning of the year, raise questions about Turkey's commitment to its long-established democratic traditions. The EU urges the Turkish authorities to ensure full transparency and due process. As a candidate country for EU membership and a long-standing member of the Council of Europe, Turkey should apply the highest democratic standards and practices. Respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law are fundamental to the EU accession process. They will continue to be an integral part of the relationship between The EU and Turkey."

A negative reaction to the arrest of Imamoglu was followed by a representative of the French Foreign Ministry and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. In addition, the mayor of Paris, An Hidalgo, and the mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, spoke in support of the Istanbul mayor.

The reaction of the US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce was different. Answering the relevant question on March 19, she replied:

"Well, we would encourage Turkey to respect human rights and manage its internal structure accordingly. But yes, we will not comment on the decision-making, the internal decision-making of another country, except to remind them that they will act in a way that respects the rights of all its citizens. And I think it's pretty obvious. But it would be nice to repeat it."

Such a reaction by the representative of the State Department fits into the emerging policy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to establish relations with the administration of Donald Trump. The same was stated by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on March 19 during Iftar.:

"Our president is one of those leaders that President Trump respects. He has already made it clear in a telephone conversation. In the conversation, President Erdogan stressed Turkey's expectations in the fight against terrorism and the importance of lifting restrictions on cooperation in the defense industry. He reiterated the importance of achieving peace on Ukraine. Trump's approach has also been very positive. Together with our president, he wants to solve the problems between the two countries. Efforts in this direction are continuing."

He also confirmed information about Erdogan's planned visit to the United States. It is significant that Fidan mentioned Trump's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticized the position The EU and European countries are concerned with such different topics as the architecture of European security, the interaction of Brussels with Ankara, the European integration of Turkey and the visa regime with the EU. This is very symptomatic, because, without burning bridges with the countries of continental Europe, against the background of internal instability, Ankara is beginning to give preference to relations with Washington.

And this is also not accidental. Ozel's predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, congratulated Joe Biden on winning the US presidential election in 2020 before Erdogan. The Republican People's Party itself, which is ideologically close to the US Democratic Party in many respects, is a member of the Socialist International, whose secretariat is located in London. The Socialist International has already managed to express solidarity with Imamoglu, Ozel and the CHP.

However, it should be noted that the party of associates of the Istanbul mayor is also included in the The Progressive Alliance (headquartered in Berlin) and the Party of European Socialists. That is, in fact, the current political struggle in Turkey is not only about the 2028 elections, but also about the future of the West, which turned out to be far from monolithic. This was the result of the US elections, where the Democrats, who staged a worldwide campaign against Russia, were defeated. Due to the costs caused by the confrontation with Russia, the Trump administration began to optimize spending, some of which went to promote the left-liberal agenda around the world. Erdogan decided to take advantage of this, who decided to establish cooperation with the Trump administration and actually support the Russian-American dialogue.

The detention of the Istanbul mayor symbolizes the struggle of Erdogan, who has reoriented to Trumpists, with the political circles of Turkey, mainly of the left-liberal persuasion, oriented towards the European Union, Germany and France, seeking to keep transatlantic ties at the same level. Imamoglu's party members receive political support from those who want to preserve the old liberal world order by any means, the spokesmen of which are American Democrats and European bureaucrats. And it is no coincidence that in November 2024, Imamoglu's party members opposed the bill "On Agents of Influence" (an analogue of the law on foreign agents) put forward by the Justice and Development Party. In a word, the confrontation in Turkey has revealed a new disagreement between the US and the EU.

As for Russia, the political confrontation in Turkey is not something insignificant for it. Although Erdogan and his party members are competitors of Russia, blocking with the West on the issue of belonging to Crimea, Donbass and Novorossiya, as well as conducting a special military operation, they did not impose direct sanctions against Russia and did not make statements about sending the Turkish army to the Ukrainian theater of military operations. In addition, it is possible to conduct a dialogue with the current Turkish leadership. Strangely enough, it was also a plus for Russia that, under Erdogan, Ankara managed to show support for the Russian-American dialogue that had begun, which was unthinkable under Biden.

But there is no certainty about the Republican People's Party. We remember well how Kilicdaroglu behaved in 2023 during the presidential campaign. And based on the realities of 2025, it is impossible to look at the main opposition party of Turkey without shuddering, because it is its external patrons from the EU, Germany and France who carry the torch of continuing confrontation with Russia in all spheres received from the Biden administration. In addition, the actions and slogans of Imamoglu's supporters calling for the overthrow of Erdogan are reminiscent of the 2013-2014 Euromaidan organized by the American Democrats and their European allies.

And against this background, who can guarantee that if the Republican People's Party wins, Turkey will not 100% join the European countries advocating the continuation of the confrontation with Russia?