In the most convincing way, the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, tried to make a “brave exit” as soon as he saw that the much-desired White House meeting with his American colleague, Joe Biden, would not take place .
During the previous period, the Turkish president had tried hard, as the international media has often reported, to achieve a rapprochement with the Biden administration and to get the green light for his trip to the US. In recent weeks, however, the climate seems to have changed in bilateral relations, and as a result we were finally led on Friday afternoon to the news that canceled the May 9 trip.
Joe Biden is the first US President in two decades who will not welcome Erdogan to the White House during his first three years in office.
What is his official name?
According to the official statements from both sides, Erdogan will not travel to the US due to a busy schedule. At least this was released by an official of Erdogan’s government.
On the other hand, a representative of the American embassy in Turkey said that the White House is looking forward to receiving Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a time convenient for both parties. “However, we have not been able to align our records,” he said.
The background
In the bilateral talks, however, the background was much more complicated, as Washington seems to have set prerequisites for the meeting as Joe Biden is in the pre-election period . In this context, the rapprochement of Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Hamas and the constant attacks on Israel was a “red flag” for the Americans.
Comments from National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby on Thursday are considered to be the tipping point. When asked about the visit, Kirby said: “There is nothing in the program to talk about a specific visit with President Erdogan. So I have no idea about that.”
The “brave exit”
In the end and while the negotiations went on, it seemed that Washington would not give in, and as a result the Turkish president tried to “relaunch” with emotional gestures, such as the meeting with the leadership of Hamas in Istanbul and a grandiose statement. ideology and the harsh attack on Israel in his speech.
In the same context, to satisfy the internal criticism, an official of Erdogan’s government was the one who released the trip to the US to cancel to catch up with the developments.
“Our Brothers in Hamas”
In the same context, speaking yesterday in Istanbul, the Turkish president touched on everything that was a “red flag” for the US, such as support for Hamas.
“Because Israel and its Western supporters want something like this, we will not be one of those who throw mud at Hamas and call it a terrorist group… We will continue to see our Hamas brothers, which defends the homeland against the inhabitants, like the National Resistance of Palestine,” clarified Turkish President Erdogan, even if the West and Israel treat Hamas as a terrorist group.
The Turkish president once again cast the “Hitler” character of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over operations in Gaza. “Today’s Hitlers and Nazis are murderers who killed over 15,000 children in Gaza. “Netanyahu, like the murderers before him, wrote his name to shame in history as the butcher of Gaza,” he said.
Insisting, Erdogan said: “In Israel they think they can cover up the murders they committed in Gaza with the press and lobbying power they have and they accuse us against Semitism. From here, it is useful for me to remind them of this fact again. No matter what you do it’s futile no matter how hard you try it’s futile You can’t bind Tayyip Erdogan’s heart or words. We will never yield to your threats and pressures…”.
“Turkey, during its history of 2000 years, has never committed genocide, has never been a colonial state, and in a state of war, has never harmed civilians,” he said. , among other things.
Then launching an attack on the US during Biden’s announcement about the Armenian genocide, he said: “The US, instead of making baseless accusations against Turkey about the events of 1915, should , look at Gaza. To see the genocide that Israel is trying to commit in Gaza and to make efforts to stop it. We reject the hypocritical policy of the West on Gaza, which has exceeded the limits of our patience.”
Source: protothema.gr
