Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with Joe Biden, then US Vice President, at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, August 24, 2016 (Kayhan Ozer/Anadolu/Getty)
The Biden Administration takes office at a tense moment in Turkey-US relations.
American sanctions have been imposed over Ankara’s purchase of S-400 missiles from Russia. Washington has been sidelined in areas such as Syria by Turkish-Russian maneuvers, with Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Vladimir Putin reconciling. And the Erdoğan Government still remembers the failure of the Obama Administration to issue a statement of support when the President was threatened by an attempted coup in July 2016.
So is there a way forward amid the series of headline issues and conflicts?
Deep Dive Politics’ World Unfiltered speaks with leading analyst Dr. Soli Özel of Istanbul Kadir Has University and the Institut Montaigne.
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1:40: What is the Turkish government’s approach to the Biden Administration? Where can each side start fixing the relationship?
The Turkish Government sees these attributes for the period to come.
1) The US made a total mess of its Iraq War; therefore, it made a total mess of the Middle East. It made a total mess of its promises of democracy promotion when it come to the Arab Spring. In general, it is unhappy how the Obama Administration extricated itself from its failures.
2) They see the US as a power in decline which will no longer be able to shape the fate of the Middle East. Because of the vacuum that was created and the incoherence of America’s Syria policy, Turkey believes you grab what you must; otherwise, you cannot protect your interests.
11:15: What was Erdogan Government’s expectation from Washington on the night of the July 2016 coup attempt?
13:30: If the US Government released a public statement on the night of coup attempt, would the August 2016 meeting between Presidents Erdoğan and Putin have taken place?
14:46: Where are we now in the bilateral relationship between Ankara and Washington?
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17:50: If the Biden Administration says it cannot lift US sanctions, how will Ankara react?
20:30: Will the Turkish Government and Biden Administration clash over Kurdish groups in northern Syria?
25:05: Is Turkey still tied to the Western economic system?
30:30: Can Turkey and the European Union return to closer relations?
32:30: One year from now, what will be Turkey’s relationship vis-à-vis the West and Russia?
