Theresa May will discuss trade, defence and security with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s president, when she visits Ankara on Saturday, according to Downing Street. Given the hostile stance of the EU’s western “half”, led by France and Jean-Claude Juncker’s European commission, May needs friends. Erdoğan wants May’s good word, and he will doubtless grill her for tips about Trump’s likely policies, notably in Syria. James “Mad Dog” Mattis, Trump’s defence secretary, and Rex Tillerson, secretary of state, share these Russia anxieties. Britain’s re-ordering of its international priorities extends beyond Trump, Turkey and Israel to include closer strategic and trade relationships in the EU’s eastern “half”, notably Poland.

Source: The Guardian January 27, 2017 12:06 UTC