A total of 81.3 percent of Turks see the United States as a threat to Turkey, according to a recent survey conducted by Kadir Has University, indicating a significant increase of more than 20 percent over last year’s poll.

The survey, titled “Turkish Foreign Policy Public Perception Research 2019,” was conducted between May 27 and June 20 on 1,000 people from 26 provinces.

A full 70.8 percent of participants said Israel poses the most imminent threat to Turkey compared to 54.4 percent in 2018.

Nearly 70 percent of participants said Azerbaijan is the closest ally of the Turkish Republic.

Meanwhile, 20.6 percent of Turks consider the relationship between Washington and Ankara as the most pressing problem of Turkish foreign policy.

Last year the Syrian civil war was regarded as the most significant problem by some 26 percent of respondents.

Sixty percent say the fight against terrorism is the major disagreement between Turkey and the US, referring to the US backing of a Kurdish militia in Syria, which is considered a terrorist group by Ankara.

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