Turkey treads carefully around issue of Biden and US presidency, offers guarded congratulations

Turkey treads carefully around issue of Biden and US presidency, offers guarded congratulations
Biden, as US vice president, meets Erdogan in Ankara in July 2016. / US Dept. of State
By bne IntelIiNews November 10, 2020

Turkey on November 10 offered Joe Biden guarded congratulations on becoming US president-elect, while Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, trod carefully around the issue of the upcoming Biden presidency by saying that Ankara expects issues poisoning ties with America to be addressed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement (in Turkish), stating that bilateral relations between Turkey and the US were of a "strategic" nature and should be further strengthened based on common interests. He also reiterated Ankara's "determination to work closely with the US administration" in the coming period. The " strong co-operation and alliance" between Ankara and Washington would continue to contribute to world peace, Erdogan added.

In his remarks, Cavusoglu said the search for solutions to the conflicts in Syria and Libya were presenting new opportunities to improve Turkey-US ties. The Turkish top diplomat, speaking to Turkish ambassadors in Turkey’s capital, added that his country’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems was “done”.

In response to the acquisition of the systems from the Kremlin, the US removed Turkey from its F-35 fighter jet programme, saying that the military hardware put the jets in jeopardy, and also cancelled the delivery of F-35s to Ankara. Cavusoglu told the gathered ambassadors that the removal of Turkey from the F-35 programme would negatively impact Nato’s defence strategy.

Biden’s election victory is a blow to the Erdogan administration. The Democrat has described the Turkish leader as an “autocrat” while Trump is widely regarded as having shielded Turkey from many sanctions that US House representatives and senators, on a bipartisan basis, have repeatedly said should be imposed on the country.

In August, Trump said during a Fox News interview that world leaders had sought his help with Erdogan, because, he claimed, the Turkish president will only listen to him.

"The heads of countries last week they called me up, 'could you call Erdogan?'" Trump said, adding that he asked the leaders—whom he did not name—why he should be the one to speak to Erdogan. "'You're the only one he'll listen to. He doesn't listen to us. You're the only one,'" Trump said they responded.

“I said,” Trump added, “'Is that because of the United States?' He says 'no, that's because of you. That's because of your personality. You're the only one that he'll listen to.'"

"I don't like saying this publicly, but it happens to be true. I get along with him and he listens," Trump said.

On November 9, seemingly not anticipating Erdogan’s statement that followed on November 10, a spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AKP party said Ankara would congratulate the winner of last week’s US election after the result of the vote was finalised.

Speaking at a news conference after an AKP meeting chaired by Erdogan, Omer Celik said Ankara would congratulate and call the next US president once the result was set, “out of respect for the United States and the American people”.

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