Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leaving for Brussels on Sunday to attend a NATO summit. But the most important thing expected in Ankara is the meeting between Erdogan and US President Joe Biden, scheduled for the official opening day of the forum – June 14th.
In Brussels, in fact, will be the first live contact between the two heads of state since the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States. Earlier, the Erdogan administration made great efforts to arrange a meeting with Biden. Although Erdogan and Biden have known each other well since Joe Biden was Obama’s vice president, the US president has not even responded to Erdogan’s congratulations on taking office. Only five months later, on the eve of the anniversary of the Armenian events, Biden called Erdogan to tell him that he would “recognize the Armenian genocide,” as he did.
Eventually, the Erdogan-Biden meeting was included in the forum’s agenda. This is considered a precedent in Turkish-American relations, as before Biden, the Turkish president was traditionally among the first foreign heads of state to be admitted to the White House by the newly elected US president.
It is no secret that the points of conflict between Turkey and the United States in recent years have been much more than common ground, but Turkey remains an important partner for the United States and NATO.
Observers close to the Turkish president point out that Erdogan is going to the meeting with Biden with 9 critical topics for Turkey, which are at the root of the conflicts from Ankara’s point of view.
The fight against FETO comes first – Ankara is angry that the United States has not handed over to it the alleged leader of the coup attempt, Fethullah Gulen, who is in the United States.
Washington’s support for the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Kurdish militia in Syria is also a problem that plagues Turkey.
During the meeting, Erdogan is expected to ask the Biden administration to take concrete steps to satisfy Turkey on these issues, in line with alliance relations.
The most critical topic of the Erdogan-Biden meeting will be the issue of the S-400, which has been on the agenda for some time.
“As Turkey has often emphasized, it will be stated at the meeting in Brussels that the S-400s that Turkey bought from Russia do not have dimensions that threaten NATO’s security system,” Turkish analysts said.
The exclusion of Turkey from the program for modernization of F-35 aircraft, the situation in Syria, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean, Nagorno-Karabakh are the topics that are planned to be put on the table.
Trade and economic issues Erdogan is expected to set an ambitious goal of mutual trade with the United States reaching $ 100 billion, five times the current level, the Turkish president said at a recent meeting with representatives of leading US companies.
Pro-government analysts in Ankara are making very optimistic forecasts. They expect the meeting between Erdogan and Biden “to take steps to develop opportunities for co-operation, taking into account Turkey’s sensitive issues”. According to analysts, the meeting “will be the beginning of a new period in Turkish-American relations”.
However, analysts critical of Erdogan say “for the first time, Joe Biden will raise Erdogan’s issue of respect for democratic rights in Turkey – a problem the country has been heavily criticized for.”
Despite the recent conflicts between Turkey and the United States, which have occasionally led to crises, despite the distance between Erdogan and Joe Biden (compared to previous US presidents with whom Erdogan has been in direct contact), “Biden is expected to will use rhetoric aimed at keeping Turkey in the Western bloc, which is very important for the security of NATO and Europe. According to signals coming from Washington, the acquaintance between Erdogan and Biden dating back to the past will have a positive impact on the meeting. ” analyzers.
It is likely that after the Erdogan-Biden meeting, there will be differences in the statements of the two countries, because for the American side the issues of democracy and respect for human rights in Turkey are a priority. However, these issues are unlikely to overshadow the military and economic interests that are at the forefront of Turkey-US relations.
As part of the NATO forum, Erdogan will hold bilateral meetings of great importance to Turkey – with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
A meeting between Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis is also scheduled for a separate comment.
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