Leaders from middle powers gathered in Antalya, Turkey this week for the country's annual diplomatic conference, confronting a fundamental challenge: how to navigate relations with a United States that many view as both essential and increasingly difficult to predict. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set the tone by declaring the global system faces a "moral and existential crisis."

Analysts described the core dilemma facing nations seeking to work with Washington. One expert noted the U.S. remains "indispensable, coercive and unpredictable at the same time" - a combination that makes traditional diplomacy extraordinarily complex. This tension between the need for American engagement and frustration with American behavior dominated discussions among attending diplomats.

The gathering underscored how traditional alliances are fraying as middle powers search for new frameworks to engage with major global players while protecting their own interests. Erdogan's stark assessment reflected growing frustration among nations that must contend with American policy shifts they cannot control or reliably predict.

Turkey played host to diplomats from across the geopolitical spectrum, all grappling with the same uncomfortable reality: the United States remains too powerful to ignore, yet too erratic to trust.