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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a message of reconciliation to the United States on Saturday, after relations between the two NATO partners have been quite tense lately, even after the installation of the new administration of President Joe Biden. .
In a video broadcast on Twitter by the Turkish presidency on Saturday, Recep Erdogan expressed his conviction that “common interests with the United States outweigh differences of opinion.” Ankara wants to strengthen long-term cooperation with the United States, based on the “win-win” principle, the Turkish president said according to international news agencies.
“Turkey will continue to discharge its duty in a manner worthy of the alliance and strategic partnership between the two countries,” Erdogan promised in the same message. The Turkish president also admits that these relationships have been “seriously tested.”
In December, the Trump administration, at the end of its term, sanctioned Turkey for acquiring Russian S-400 anti-aircraft systems, after, for the same reason, Turkey had been excluded from the program to buy American F-35 jets. On the other hand, Ankara reacted vehemently to Washington’s support in Syria for the Kurdish YPG militia, considered a terrorist group in Turkey.
An American reaction – deemed too weak by Ankara – to the death in Iraq of 13 Turks detained by rebels from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) became a new source of tension this week, with Erdogan accusing Washington of supporting the Kurdish “terrorists”.
Indeed, Ankara viewed the election of Joe Biden as US president with distrust, including fears of further criticism of Washington for the human rights situation in Turkey.
Before Erdogan’s message on Saturday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a first phone conversation, in which they also addressed the dispute sparked by the acquisition by Turkey’s part of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missiles.
Editor: Luana Pavaluca
