Erdogan to look for ways out of international loneliness at Nato summit in Brussels
Experts say the NATO summit in Brussels on June 14 will be of vital importance for Turkey. The reason they say is President Erdogan will need to look for ways out of his international loneliness and the economic bottleneck in which he is stuck. Pre-summit talks, gestures to Biden may not save him from said difficult position.
The White House announced last Thursday that U.S. President Joe Biden would meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of his contacts at the NATO leaders summit on June 14 to address “all issues” between the two countries and the region. The confirmation of this meeting, which has been delayed for a while for various reasons, helped Turkish side to take a breath. But this certainty is not a guarantee for the AKP which is alone with international distrust of itself and cannot get out of the economic bottleneck in which it is stuck.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE PAST IN THE INTERESTS OF FRIENDSHIP
Trans-Atlantic relations which have reached a breaking point in the era of Donald Trump, are on a path to rapid recovery, with some fairly warm messages with the Biden administration. Experts say this does not apply to relations between Turkey and USA.
The first face-to-face meeting with Biden in Brussels on June 14 and leaders’ summit is a turning point in Turkey’s international position next term. But can the disagreement between Ankara and Washington on the S-400 air defense system, the F-35 military aircraft program, Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Halkbank case end with this meeting? Will Biden leave his interests in the region in two gestures? It seems unlikely.
Since Biden took office on January 21, Erdogan has begun taking steps to build good relations with the new administration, which he has contradicted on many issues. To name a few we can refer Reform gospel to the West, followed by old acquaintance messages to Biden, finally Russian experts in the Foreign Press sent home.
US SEEKS ALLEGIANCE, NOT GESTURE
The first high-level visit to Ankara from the Biden administration took place on May 27-28. “Getting the S-400s creates problems for the NATO alliance, “Wendy Sherman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for two at the US State Department, who was appointed in April, said after her contacts in Turkey. She added, “We have offered alternatives, they know exactly what to do. I hope we can find a common way. This technical detail is not an issue, it is not a political thing. Turkey is aware of the situation and knows the steps to take. We also discussed how these steps will be taken, this will be Turkey’s decision.” After her visit to Ankara, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin hosted Sherman, number two of the US State Department, in Istanbul. “Despite the differences of opinion, the importance of advancing our relations with a strategic understanding and a positive agenda was mentioned,” the presidency said in a statement.
“Turkey knows the steps it needs to take,” a senior US official said, while a “positive agenda” stood out on the ruling front. The S-400s received from Russia, which have not yet been installed, are the first item on the table at the summit, where the United States is expected to squeeze Turkey along with other NATO members. And will NATO member Turkey back down on this issue?
Erdogan attended the joint publication of TRT 1 and TRT Haber on June 1 and stressed that he had not received the S-400 all at once. He mentioned the F35 fighter jets which he paid for but was not delivered. “We are not a city state, we are the Republic of Turkey. Those who corner the state of the Republic of Turkey in this way lose an important friend. We’ll be with you in NATO. We will be one of the top five states of NATO, one of its strong States,” he said
Erdogan, who wants to paint an image of a leader to the millions watching on screen, a leader who does not give up his sovereign rights regardless of what happens, told Biden on the other hand “this friendship will not end.” Can he be that tough at the table? Here is the biggest contradiction of the president, who has left 2 months behind with CAATSA sanctions and has obvious difficulties in leading a country in an economic crisis.
