Turkey goes to the polls

Turks are going to the polls in parliamentary elections and the vote is being seen as a referendum on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The poll comes at a critical time for Turkey's relations, especially with the West.

There are lots of questions about how Turkey views the broader Middle East and its relationship with the Islamic State.

Robert Pearson is a former Foreign Service Officer who served as United States Ambassador to Turkey from 2000–2003.

He says the key challenge is to maintain Turkey as a Western-style democracy:

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CLIP: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0607turkey-pearson1.mp3

Ambassador Robert Pearson says Washington and Ankara do not see eye to eye on how to deal with the Islamic State.

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Ambassador Robert Pearson says no matter the outcome, Turkey is critical to the future of the Middle East, thanks in part to its location at the cross roads of Europe and Asia.

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CLIP: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0607turkey-pearson3.mp3

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