Analysts say that, in addition to reassuring a suspicious West that the AKP - despite its roots in Turkey's Islamic movement - is committed to a non-religious, pro-Western agenda, the trip may also have been intended to show that Erdogan, though currently ineligible to serve as prime minister, remains the key political player.
Analitičari kažu da bi, pored ubeđivanja sumnjičavog Zapada da je AKP -- uprkos svojim korenima u turskom islamskom pokretu -- posvećena nereligioznom, prozapadnom programu, cilj ove turneje takođe mogao da bude da se pokaže da Erdogan, iako u ovom trenutku nema pravo da obavlja funkciju premijera, ostaje ključni politički igrač.