-- The assassination creates a geopolitical crisis for Turkish President Recep Erdogan, whose relations with the West have frayed in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt. Ishaan Tharoor writes that the murder may force Turkey to pivot closer to Russia: “This could not have come at a worse time for Erdogan, who had been carefully negotiating with Putin over Syria,” said Henri Barkey, director of the the Woodrow Wilson Institute’s Middle East program. “At a time when his relationship with the U.S. and Europe has soured, the appearance of a rapprochement with Russia was something he needed. … Now, he will find that his hand with the Russians is even weaker than ever and one can be sure that Putin will milk this as much as he can behind closed doors while offering platitudes in public about unchanging relations. The only thing to be decided is the price Erdogan will have to pay.”