Expert talks on reason for crisis in US-Turkish relations

By  Trend

The reason for the crisis in US-Turkish relations is linked to Ankara’s independent policy in the region, in particular, regarding the settlement of the Syrian issue, Naciye Selin Senocak, a holder of ??????Istanbul Aydin University’s UNESCO Chair in Cultural Diplomacy, Governance and Education (CDGE), director of the Center for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies (CEDS) in Paris, told Trend.

She was commenting on the recent crisis in relations between Washington and Ankara.

She said that Turkey is embarking on new military operations in the Syrian city of Idlib jointly with Iran and Russia, and Ankara didn’t take into account US interests in this issue.

“The new military operations of Turkey in Syria jointly with Iran and Russia are very irritating to the US,” she added.

Despite that the US authorities officially opposed creation of a new state in the north of Iraq, actually, Washington and its policy in the region are evidence of completely different approaches, she noted.

Senocak doesn’t exclude that today the US will find it difficult to initiate military conflicts and arm various militant and terrorist groups by creating internal problems for the states of the region.

“The US should completely reconsider its policy, which remains since the Cold War,” the expert said. “Otherwise, the US will lose all its capital and capabilities when faced by force represented by Russia, Turkey and China.”

The expert also believes that Turkey’s successful policy in the region is perceived in the US as a threat.

According to the NATO Charter, the US as an ally of Turkey is obliged to support the country against terrorist threats, and not to assist the terrorists, said Senocak.

She added that the military coup attempt in Turkey, the US arming of the Syrian wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) (YPG, People’s Protection Units/PYD, Democratic Union Party), accusations against bodyguards of the Turkish president, as well as the contract signed by Ankara and Moscow for the purchase of S-400 air defense system, joint military operations of Turkey, Iran and Russia in the Syrian Idlib, and, finally, the recent arrest of an employee of the US Consulate General in Istanbul are clear evidence of cooling in relations between the US and Turkey.

In this regard, Senocak noted that the latest crisis in the relations between Turkey and the US may become more extensive.

On October 8, 2017, the US suspended issuance of non-immigrant visas to Turkish citizens. The US suspended issuance of non-immigrant visas to Turkish citizens due to the arrest of an employee of the US Consulate General in Istanbul.

The Turkish authorities, commenting on the arrest of the employee, noted that he had links with the movement of Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of being involved in a military coup attempt in Turkey in 2016.

Turkey, in turn, also suspended the issuance of visas to US citizens.