According to this view, democracy is a product of western culture, and it cannot be applied to the Middle East which has a different cultural, religious, sociological and historical background.

If the people allow something to happen, it's the right thing.

Turkey wants to be treated by the same standards as other countries. If you compare us to some other newly accepted EU members our performance, especially in terms of the economy, is much better.

A fitting external security environment could also play an important role in promoting social consensus and institutionalization towards democratization.

Everyone should unconditionally accept that Israel is an indispensable element of the Middle Eastern mosaic.

The US and the European Union needs to help in the translation of the demand for democracy into a political will.

It is obvious that putting the Arab-Israeli dispute on a resolution track would be an important element of overcoming the confidence problem in the region.