Turkey to seek strong dialogue with Biden administration - pro-gov’t columnist

Turkey will be strongly seeking dialogue with the United States as president-elect Joe Biden steps into office later this month, wrote pro-government columnist Hande Fırat on Tuesday.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has already signalled that Ankara seeks to begin relations with the new U.S. administration on a clean slate, Fırat wrote in Hürriyet newspaper, stressing that both Ankara and Washington will begin talks free of  “any confrontation.’’

Analysts maintain that Biden, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, is likely to take a tougher stance on Turkey over an array of issues, including the country’s purchase of the Russian-made S-400 missile defence system and its dispute with Greece and Cyprus over natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.

“If the United States lays down the S-400s as the top agenda item,’’ Fırat wrote, Turkey will stress that does not accept the U.S.’ support for a terrorist “organisation,’’ referring the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group that has been at war in Turkey for over 40 years.

On Dec. 14, the Trump administration slapped sanctions on Turkey over the acquisition of the S-400 system. NATO and the United States maintain the mobile surface-to-air missile system poses a risk to the NATO alliance as well as the F-35, America’s most expensive weapons platform.

Akar last month said that Turkey purchased the Russian S-400 system in a bid to ensure the national defence of the country, stressing that the U.S. sanctions were not befitting to relations of the two allies. But Turkey’s defence chief also stressed the desire for good relations with Washington.

“Ankara conducted backdoor diplomacy during the U.S. presidential elections,’’ Fırat said, with Turkey providing messages that it “seeks good relations’’ with its NATO ally. 

Talks between Ankara and Washington after Biden steps into office will be critical, the Hürriyet columnist wrote.

According to same columnist, Biden team also told Ankara that some of Biden's speeches were campaign speeches and the target audience was domestic.

Biden spoke of his vision for U.S. relations with Turkish President Erdoğan during the campaign with the New York Times, saying he would embolden Turkish opposition to defeat Turkey's strongman in elections if he became president.

Biden also called Erdoğan an "autocrat," and added, "He’s the president of Turkey and a lot more." Biden said his comfort level about the U.S. still having nuclear weapons in Turkey given Erdoğan's behaviour "is diminished a great deal."