“This failed coup is playing right into Erdogan’s hands because he can now get his political opponents out of the picture, put the army under Islamists’ control and dominate the country’s political life. What I also see is a quickly changing balance of power in Turkey as a result of what happened,” said Sigiros, who is an expert in Greco-Turkish relations and the author of a fundamental book on relations between the two countries.
After part of the Turkish military attempted to overthrow the government, many Muslim clergymen called on the people to come forward in support of President Erdogan.
When asked if this could mean a repetition of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, Angelos Sigiros said that it was exactly what could now happen in Turkey.
“The Erdogan government will now rule supreme. He is a democratic hero now, the man people came out for, even though urged to do so by the clergy, as you said,” Angelos Sigiros noted.
As for speculation about Erdogan allegedly being behind the coup, he said that “this is something we’ll never know.”
Mentioning the impact the recent events in Turkey could have on relations between Ankara and Athens, Sigiros said he hoped that the Turkish army would be ordered to scale down its violations of the Greek airspace, at least for now.
Late on Friday, Turkish authorities said that there had been an attempt to overthrow the government. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the people to take to the streets, stating that the coup attempt was carried out by a small group within the military.
The coup attempt was reportedly suppressed by early Saturday, with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim stating that all coup supporters had been detained and the country was returning to normal life.
