Erdogan's strong showing signals "business as usual" for Mideast | Reuters

Erdogan's strong showing signals "business as usual" for Mideast | Reuters

The prospect of Tayyip Erdogan winning another presidential term in Turkey would once have rung alarms around the Middle East, but after taking a more conciliatory stance in recent years his strong election showing on Sunday has caused few flutters.

Erdogan secured just under half the votes and looks well placed for the May 28 runoff against opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, defying some predictions he might lose outright.

Over 20 years, Erdogan championed a muscular regional policy, sending troops to fight Kurds in Iraq, seize border enclaves in Syria and back government forces in Libya while challenging other Middle East powers.

But as Turkey's economy faltered, Erdogan changed his approach, reaching accommodations with rivals such as the United Arab Emirates, but without pulling back Turkish forces on the ground.

While some Kurdish groups still see Erdogan as an implacable foe, most Middle East governments have come to regard the Turkish leader as part of an acceptable status quo in a tumultuous region.