Turkey seeks ‘healthier’ relationship with Biden administration, requests that US sanctions be dropped
BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Turkey’s presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalı has announced that “Biden’s transition team is eager to develop a good relationship with Ankara.” But in “an unusual snub for a powerful NATO ally,” Biden has (at the time of this writing) flatly ignored Erdogan’s request for a phone call.
The Trump administration placed sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of Russian s-400 missiles. On the face of it, it seems unlikely that Biden would remove those sanctions:
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds and said that the Turkish leader “has to pay a price.” He also suggested the U.S. should support Turkish opposition leaders “to be able to take on and defeat Erdogan. Not by a coup, but by the electoral process.”
Turkey’s enthusiasm about a healthier relationship with the US may be premature.
“Turkey urges ‘review’ of US sanction decision over S-400s,” Al Jazeera, January 14, 2021:
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has called on the upcoming Biden administration in the United States to engage in a dialogue with Ankara and to review a decision to sanction the country over its purchase of an advanced Russian air missile defence system.
“We are saying let’s not break things up in this way. Let’s sit down and talk and find a solution,” Akar said on Wednesday.
That request comes even though Washington has made clear that there can be no waiver of the sanctions until Ankara disposes of the Russian technology.
Speaking to reporters late on Wednesday, Akar would not be drawn into a question on whether Turkey would consider disposing of the Russian S-400 system amid US pressure. But he said he was hopeful that a solution can be found “through common sense before coming to that point”.
“It is a very problematic situation to turn back from the point we have come to. We invite [the US] to distance themselves from threatening language such as sanctions,” Akar told journalists in Ankara.
“We want the solution of problems through dialogue. If the US side wants a solution, a solution could be found with work on the technical level,” he said.
Second consignment of the S-400s?
Akar also said talks with Russia on acquiring a second consignment of the S-400 were continuing.Ties between the two allies took a turn for the worse when in April 2017, Turkey signed a contract with Russia to acquire the state-of-the-art missile shield….