Turkish Foreign Minister Concludes Successful Visit to Washington
The most significant development during Fidan’s visit was Trump’s praise for Turkey and its president, “Good place, good leader, too.”
llWASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan concluded a two-day trip to Washington DC on Wednesday. The most important event in which he participated was a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But, probably, the most significant development during his visit occurred in his absence. That event was praise from U.S. President Donald Trump for Trump’s Turkish counterpart. In a meeting with individuals nominated to be U.S. ambassadors, but still awaiting Senate confirmation, Trump described Turkey as a “good place,” with a “good leader.”
Trump’s remarks signaled that Ankara would not be coming under international pressure, as Erdogan confronts the country’s most serious unrest since the 2013 Gezi Park protests. Trump’s remarks removed the immediate threat of some economic unravelling in Turkey that could have fueled further unrest and instability.
As Bloomberg, a highly-regarded financial news outlet, reported on Wednesday, “Turkish financial markets steadied,” as Trump “endorsed his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the central bank pledged to further tighten policy if needed.”
As Bloomberg further explained, “Markets have calmed following last week’s chaotic exodus of foreign capital, triggered by a crackdown on the opposition.”
Read More: Erdogan exploits West's blind eye to Turkey crackdown: analysts
Fidan in Washington
Fidan met with his U.S. counterpart, Marco Rubio, on Tuesday. They discussed “cooperation on key issues in security and trade,” according to the U.S. readout of their meeting.
That included a U.S. request that Turkey support “peace in Ukraine and the South Caucasus,” where Armenia and Azerbaijan are negotiating a peace agreement after nearly four decades of conflict centered around the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies in Azerbaijan.
Rubio also expressed his appreciation for Turkey’s “leadership in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS,” while he “reiterated the need for close cooperation to support a stable, unified, peaceful Syria that is neither a base for international terrorism nor a pathway for destabilizing Iranian activities.”
Turkey was the main backer of Ahmed al-Sharaa, head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as it toppled Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime in December. Turkey has a great deal of influence in Damascus now, even as it is strongly invested in the success of the new government.
Thus, a top item on Fidan’s agenda was to press the Trump administration to lift sanctions on Damascus.
Read More: Turkey’s FM Hakan Fidan Heads to Washington for Critical Talks
And Washington, indeed, has recently taken steps in that direction.
Read More: US Offers Syria Partial Sanctions Relief in Exchange for Key Conditions
The U.S. read-out of the Rubio-Fidan meeting concluded with the statement that “the Secretary expressed concerns regarding recent arrests and protests in Turkey.”
However, that was disputed in a Reuters report out of Ankara, which quoted a Turkish diplomatic source as saying that Rubio had not raised the issue in that way. But whichever account is correct, it may well be irrelevant. Trump does not share that concern, and it is the president who determines U.S. policy.
Trump and Erdogan spoke on March 16, in advance of the current round of diplomacy. Trump has a friendly relationship with Erdogan which goes back to his first term as U.S. president, and it appears that Trump will pursue it in his second term.
What Turkey is Looking For
There are slight differences from the official U.S. read-out of the Rubio-Fidan meeting and Ankara’s account, as reflected in the Turkish press.
In its report, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) did emphasize the importance of Syria in their meeting. But AA added that they had also discussed holding a meeting between Trump and Erdogan.
Apparently, Erdogan would like such a meeting, and, it seems, Trump would probably be agreeable, particularly given his praise of Erdogan.
AA also said that in the Rubio-Fidan meeting, both sides had expressed “their commitment to removing obstacles to defense cooperation.” That is reference to Turkey’s desire to return to the F-35 program, which is producing America’s newest, most advanced fighter jet.
Turkey had originally been part of the program—until it purchased the Russian air defense system, the S-400. U.S. defense officials then worried that the proximity of the new and advanced Russian system to the F-35 would enable Moscow to learn how to shoot down the U.S.plane.
So the U.S. asked that Turkey mothball its S-400, but Erdogan was unwilling to do so. Thus, in 2019, Turkey was removed from the F-35 program.
However, when Trump and Erdogan spoke earlier this month, Erdogan indicated that he was ready to agree to a solution which would satisfy the Pentagon regarding the security of the F-35. So, presumably, Turkey will soon return to the program. Turkish officials have said that they would like to purchase 40 of the F-35 fighters.
