Turkey’s top diplomat leaves for US amid sour relations

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu left for the US on Tuesday and during his visit efforts will be made to iron out differences between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies. During this visit, Cavusoglu will meet his American counterpart Antony Blinken. It is not normal for a top Turkish official to visit the US.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has distanced itself from Turkey because of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s increasingly authoritarian regime and his policies that restrict rights and freedoms. Turkey is strategically important for America. The Turkish government last year helped broker a key agreement between Russia and Ukraine that allowed millions of tons of Ukrainian grain to reach global markets amid the war and avert a food crisis.

There is a situation of dispute between Turkey and America on many matters. The biggest bone of contention between them is Turkey’s purchase of Russian-made missiles and US support for Kurdish militias in Syria. Turkey was sanctioned in 2017 for its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system and was removed from its development program for the next-generation F-35 fighter. Ankara is currently trying to reinvigorate its F-16 fleet, but is facing opposition from the US Congress.

Cavusoglu expressed confidence this week that obstacles in Congress to a deal to buy 40 F-16 aircraft from the US and access technology to update its existing fleet would be cleared. He said, “We (Biden) have reached agreement with the administration and it is important that the administration has emphasized that the agreement is important not only for Turkey, but also for NATO. There will be no problem if the administration remains firm.

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