The good news is that the Government has shown a willingness to negotiate toughly, but seriously on the basis of principles concerning the sharing of power and wealth that resulted in the Naivasha Peace Agreement.

That toughly worded statement was seen as a veiled but unmistakable warning that the military was prepared to intervene if Gul s election as president resulted in an effort by the Erdogan government to push its Islamic agenda or take measures that threatened the secular nature of the Turkish political order.