Ankara's support of Kyiv and diplomatic efforts to end the Ukrainian war has won plaudits from its western allies, including France, offering the hope of a reset of deeply strained relations.
At March's NATO summit, smiling Turkish and French Presidents exchanged a warm handshake in front of the world's media. The two leaders were more accustomed to exchanging barbs and even insults until recently. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine has changed the tone.
"Although they were not shy of invectives against each other. Now they both pat each other's backs," said former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen now a presenter for news portal Mediascope.
Warming ties
In a sign of warming ties, both sides have committed themselves to reviving the sale of an Italian French missile Samp/T defense system to Turkey.
That is seen as potentially significant as the defense system could provide an alternative to Russia's S400 missile system that Ankara purchased.
The purchase remains a key point of tension between Turkey and its NATO partners, who call for its removal. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's close ties with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin while contentious, have allowed him to present himself as an honest broker in efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.
"There are no losers with peace," Erdogan declared to Russian and Ukrainian delegations in a short speech ahead of peace talks in Istanbul.
Turkey's geostrategic importance
Ankara has close ties with Kyiv and Moscow. But Erdogan has strongly condemned Russia's assault on Ukraine, closing access to the Black Sea to most of Russia's warships. Such moves received strong plaudits from Brussels and Washington. The Ukrainian conflict could offer an opportunity to Ankara.
"That the world has entered a new era, somewhat similar to the Cold War, will also emphasize Turkey's geostrategic importance," said Sinan Ulgen of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, a research organization in Istanbul.
"And as a result of which there will be an opportunity for Turkey and its Western allies, and here particularly the United States, to try to resolve their outstanding issues on a more constructive note," Ulgen added.
Erdogan's backing of Ukraine comes as he is already working to repair relations with others, including Armenia and Israel — moves that have also drawn praise from the West, including Paris.
But Turkey is still facing significant obstacles to any reset in relations with its Western partners, warns Sezin Oney, a political columnist for PolitikYol, a Turkish news portal.
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"I don't see a return to old alliance structures, not unless there is a very big change in Turkey, and Turkey moves towards democracy and the rule of law and respect of human rights. And we don't foresee that at this point, not with this government. So, I don't think so. But there might be coinciding interests. There might be new coinciding interests developing. There might be cooperation, "said Oney,
Rights groups say Turkey is one of the biggest jailers of journalists globally, while its treatment of government opponents and its Kurdish minority continue to draw strong international criticism.
Ankara rejects such criticism, insisting it's a law-abiding country. But some analysts suggest Ankara may be calculating that any return to Cold War-like diplomacy could, as in the past, see Turkey's Western allies placing security concerns ahead of democracy. Selcen says such a calculation is misplaced.
"As long as the war is underway, Turkey's geopolitical importance and value is very high. It's not negligible at all. But once the war ends and once we step into this new world. Probably then there will be more pressure again from the West from Europe and the US on Turkey to move on democratization, and we have to keep in mind that by next year there will be elections in this country in 2023," said Selcen
