Instead, Mr Erdogan chose forcefully to reiterate that his government was not recognising Cyprus.
Mr Erdogan declared that friendship with Armenia was no longer possible unless it withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Most pundits reckon that Mr Erdogan will easily win the elections that are due in 2007.
Yet, if Mr Erdogan bows to the army's demands, he risks splitting his own party.
For his part, Mr Erdogan is unlikely to be pleased with the latest developments.
But despite his victory in September's referendum, Mr Erdogan faces a tricky election next summer.
Banning Mr Erdogan could have precisely the opposite effect to what the generals intended.
Yet everyone agrees that Mr Erdogan must seek consensus when nominating a candidate for the presidency.
Mr Erdogan's conciliatory message was also intended for the country's meddlesome generals, who despise him.
It will take all of Mr Erdogan's skills to resist pressure to go into Iraq.
But these concerns will not affect the core support for Mr Erdogan, which is substantial.
Turkey's liberal intelligentsia, long among Mr Erdogan's stalwart supporters, is grumbling, as is the European Commission.
Mr Erdogan has not visited the victims' families, nor has he apologised for the deaths.
Mr Erdogan's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has a policy of no disputes with the neighbours.
Mr Erdogan's 29-year-old son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, is chief executive of Mr Calik's holding company.
ECONOMIST: The government rounds on its secular critics in the media
Mr Erdogan has threatened to take further action should the French Senate approve the bill.
One of Mr Erdogan's strengths is his knack for pulling back from the brink.
Mr Erdogan secured the opening of membership talks in October 2005, and they continue, if fitfully.
Mr Erdogan has taken to blaming the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, for the renewed violence.
Yet Mr Erdogan could call Mr Ocalan's bluff and pursue Kurdish reforms with greater vigour.
Mr Obama is said to have pleaded with Mr Erdogan to mend fences with Israel.
True, Mr Erdogan too has been banned from politics, in his case for life.
Unless it was a cunning political feint, Mr Erdogan's anti-EU outburst is thus hard to understand.
Mr Erdogan is a master at scenting the public mood, but his popularity is falling.
There is the lingering fear that Mr Erdogan is an autocrat in the making.
The big question that hangs over Mr Erdogan is that he seems uneasy with dissent.
This could give freer rein to what critics call Mr Erdogan's tilt towards authoritarianism.
In the wrong hands, says Mr Dervis, meaning Mr Erdogan's, the economy could unravel again.
Mr Erdogan insists that none of these is any longer a problem for Turkey.
Mr Erdogan has escalated his anti-Israeli rhetoric, insisting that Israel lift its blockade on Gaza.
ECONOMIST: Tests mount up for Turkey��s newly assertive foreign policy
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