A visit to Washington on Jan. 18 by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, during which he met U.S. counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken, served to highlight the complex relationship between the NATO allies.
At the meeting, both men reaffirmed their “longstanding commitment to collective defense as [NATO] allies,” according to a joint statement released afterward.
While both sides hailed the meeting as constructive, it papered over longstanding differences that continue to plague U.S.–Turkey relations.
F-16 Sale in Limbo
For one, Turkey hopes to purchase a fleet of U.S.-built F-16 warplanes—a move staunchly opposed by influential U.S. lawmakers.While the Biden administration favors the $20 billion deal, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate’s foreign relations committee, remains opposed to the sale.
Menendez reiterated his objections last week, accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of engaging in “destabilizing behavior in Turkey and against neighboring NATO allies.”
While the issue has remained a point of contention since late 2021, little headway appears to have been made in the Blinken–Cavusoglu meeting.
The joint statement merely said the two men had discussed “strengthening the defense partnership, including modernization of Turkey’s F-16 fleet.”
In remarks to reporters after the meeting, Cavusoglu urged the Biden administration not to “waste an important deal between allies just because one person, or a few people, is blocking it.”
The issue of arms procurement has dogged relations between the nations for years.
In 2017, Ankara agreed to purchase S-400 missile-defense systems from Russia. Washington responded by sanctioning Turkey’s defense industry and calling off Ankara’s planned purchase of American F-35 warplanes.
The YPG: ‘Allies’ Versus ‘Terrorists’
Blinken and Cavusoglu also stressed their countries’ desire to collaborate in “efforts to fight against terrorist organizations, notably ISIS/Daesh and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK),” according to the joint statement.However, the statement didn’t contain any reference to the Kurdish YPG group, which remains a primary irritant to relations.
Washington views the YPG as an ally and continues to use it as an ostensible bulwark against the ISIS terrorist group in Syria.
Turkey, for its part, sees the YPG—the Syrian offshoot of the PKK—as a terrorist group that threatens its borders.
Since 2016, Turkey has carried out three ground offensives into northern Syria—and has threatened to launch a fourth—with the stated aim of destroying the YPG.
In November 2022, several people were killed in central Istanbul in a bombing that Turkish authorities have blamed on YPG operatives.
In the joint statement, Blinken reiterated his condemnation of the attack, saying the United States stood “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Turkey in the fight against terrorism.
The two men also agreed on the need to fight terrorism “in all its forms and manifestations.”
No mention was made, however, of Washington’s continued support for the YPG.
In January, Erdogan warned that Turkey would “take matters into its own hands” if Washington continued to arm and support the group.
Turkey Stalls Nordic NATO Bid
Blinken and Cavusoglu also reportedly discussed means of strengthening “coordination and solidarity” between NATO members “in the face of current threats and challenges.”Within this context, they discussed the implementation of a “trilateral memorandum” aimed at allowing Sweden and Finland to join NATO.
In May 2022, Stockholm and Helsinki both formally applied to join the alliance. Turkey, however, objects to the move and accuses both countries of harboring PKK militants.
Countries seeking NATO membership must secure the approval of all the alliance’s current members.
Signed by Turkey, Sweden, and Finland last summer, the memorandum seeks to address Turkey’s “legitimate security concerns” by obliging the two Nordic states to take steps against terrorist groups.
Ankara, along with Washington and Brussels, has long considered the PKK a terrorist organization.
Last week, an anti-Turkey rally in Stockholm—reportedly staged by PKK supporters—drew furious reactions from Ankara.
“Words aren’t enough; we need to see action,” Cavusoglu said at the time. Stockholm, he added, “must fulfill its obligations.”
Relations with Moscow, Damascus
In Washington, Blinken and Cavusoglu also stressed their “unequivocal support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russia’s unacceptable war.”Nevertheless, Turkey maintains good relations with Russia and has steadfastly declined to support Western-led sanctions on Moscow.
Last summer, Turkey and Russia agreed to expand bilateral ties, especially in terms of trade and energy, prompting Western fears of a Turkish “tilt toward Moscow.”
Washington has also voiced concern over what appears to be a budding rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus following 10 years of hostility.
Turkey supports armed rebel groups in Syria that have sought to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government.
In recent months, however, Moscow has urged ally Damascus to mend relations with Ankara.
Syrian Crisis Discussed
Plans are now underway to hold a second meeting in Moscow between Cavusoglu and the Syrian foreign minister, which would pave the way for an eventual meeting between Erdogan and Assad.Washington, meanwhile, takes a dim view of the Russia-backed Turkey–Syria reconciliation process.
“We do not support countries upgrading relations with ... the brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad,” a U.S. State Department spokesman said earlier this month.
The joint statement issued after the Blinken–Cavusoglu meeting, however, made no reference to the planned Turkish–Syrian foreign minister’s summit.
It merely said the two men had discussed “all aspects of the Syrian crisis,” stressing their commitment to a “Syrian-led political process in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.”
Adopted unanimously in 2015, Resolution 2254 calls for a cessation of hostilities between warring parties in Syria and a political settlement of the decade-long crisis.
