Turkey is acting with a new level of self-confidence in the international diplomatic arena, and no one should resent the country for trying to build up its status as a regional power - or for trying to look beyond the narrow confines of Europe.

When China designed the 2010 Universal Expo in Shanghai as a showcase for its new public diplomacy, it probably did not envision the exhibition would play a much bigger role as a magnet for recession-hit European businesses.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is embarking on a five-day, five-nation tour of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus that will test her diplomatic skills in a region that straddles geopolitical fault lines.

The complexity of European views on Turkey is often neglected, both in Europe and in the United States. European countries are currently divided on Turkey’s prospective membership in the European Union (EU), but along multiple lines.

The role of the interactive internet in generating European conversations and explaining the European Union should be cautiously expanded says a recent report.

Olivier Chastel, the Belgian secretary of state for EU affairs...raised the possibility of the opening of a new chapter in negotiations with Turkey in the coming months after Spain, which currently holds the EU presidency, backed Ankara's bid despite resistance from France and Germany.

For those Europeans concerned with China's growing prowess, here is another reason to be alert. The Chinese are about to cross the Danube. Not with tanks or communist propaganda, but with cash and a charm offensive.

Turkey's president sounded an optimistic note Wednesday about his country's prospects of joining the European Union despite its recent turn toward the East.