Zaman’s Mehmet Yılmaz finds the concerns of the circles who are worried that Turkey is turning East instead of West unfounded and asks some questions to prove why the argument is wrong. “Has Turkey decided to quit NATO membership? No. Is Turkey readying to quit its membership of the Council of Europe? No. Have entry talks with the EU been suspended? No. Has Turkey ended its partnership relations with the United States? No,” says Yılmaz. Questioning the underlying reasons behind the criticism of Turkey turning to the East, he explains that an idea which sees Europe as the center of the world and the source of culture makes some think that Turkey having some cooperation with countries with which it has historical ties is a “change of axis.” Dismissing the concerns of the circles in question, he says: “Turkey is not going anywhere. It just returns to its essence and tries to stand on its feet. That is it. Turkey’s route is sound and it is on the right path,” says Yılmaz.

According to Vatan’s Okay Gönensin, one of the possible reasons for the government’s latest efforts to strengthen ties with the East in line with its “zero problems with neighbors” policy might be the fact that no European country was included in the government’s intense diplomatic efforts. In addition, the government has given no push to the realization of reforms necessary for EU membership. Although Gönensin finds the argument that “the Turkish government has closed its windows facing West while it has opened its windows facing East,” an unfounded one, he says if some circles have concerns about this, they should be taken seriously.