US-Turkey crisis – possible implications for Albania

TIRANA, Aug.15 – A potential escalation of the diplomatic crisis between the United States and Turkey triggering an apparent slowdown in one of the world’s fastest growing economies could have implications for the Western Balkans and Albania where Turkey has been using its soft power to increase its influence in a region it controlled for centuries under the Ottoman Empire. Relations between the world’s largest economy and Turkey have been sharply deteriorating in the past few weeks over Turkey’s refusal to extradite a US pastor who is imprisoned there, leading to higher U.S. tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel that…