Turkish Foreign Minister Visits Washington for Strategic Dialogue, Aimed at Renewing Military Ties

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan completed a two day visit to the U.S. on Friday in the context of the U.S.-Turkey Strategic Mechanism.

The Mechanism was announced in April 2022, following a meeting of U.S. President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Rome.

On Thursday, Fidan and his delegation met with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, as well as with members of the U.S. Congress, including the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Ben Cardin (D., Maryland.)

On Friday, Fidan led his delegation in a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He also met with Phil Gordon, National Security Advisor to Vice-President Kamala Harris.

The clear aim of the meetings was to put defense ties between the U.S. and Turkey on a sounder footing, following earlier efforts by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to adopt a more neutral stance. positioning Turkey between the U.S. and Russia.

The result was strained ties between Ankara and Washington.

Background to Meetings

The meetings came amid two major world crises: Russia’s assault on Ukraine and the Israeli-Hamas war. It also comes as Turkey and the U.S. have sought to improve ties after relations reached a low point, following the deal that Ankara reached with Moscow in 2017 to buy the Russian air defense system, the S-400, and the delivery of the weapons system two years later.

U.S. defense experts strongly believed that the $2.5 billion weapons deal would endanger U.S.-made aircraft in Turkish possession, because it would allow Moscow to understand better how to target U.S. aircraft.

The U.S. repeatedly warned Turkey against proceeding with the deal, but it was ignored. As the S-400s arrived in Turkey, the U.S. canceled the scheduled delivery of its most advanced fighter plane, the F-35. One immediate consequence was that Ankara lost the $1.4 billion it had invested in the F-35 project.

Sweden’s Accession to NATO; Sale of F-16s to Turkey

Fidan’s meetings followed the clearance of one major hurdle. Turkey had initially blocked Sweden’s request, first made in May 2022, to join NATO following Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022, assault on Ukraine.

Erdogan claimed that Sweden had been too tolerant of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and discussions between Ankara and Stockholm followed.

Whether Erdogan secured any real change in Swedish policy is unclear, but on Jan. 23, the Turkish parliament approved Sweden’s ascension to NATO, after a 20-month delay.

Read More: Turkish parliament ratifies Sweden's NATO membership

Blinken had visited Turkey on Jan. 6 and met with Fidan. NATO-related issues were a major topic in their meeting. 

The U.S. read-out of their discussion noted that the two countries’ “shared priorities as NATO allies.” In the meeting, Blinken had “emphasized the importance of completing the final steps to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO and addressing sanctions and export control evasions” related to trade with Russia. 

The parliament’s ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO followed within three weeks. Once that was done, the State Department sent a request to the U.S. Senate to approve Turkey’s request to purchase 40 new F-16s–older than the F-35, but a widely exported U.S. fighter jet, as well as modernization kits for the 79 F-16s that were already in Turkish possession. 

On Feb. 29, the U.S. Senate approved the sale—paving the way for Fidan’s visit.

Outcome of Meetings 

Following Fidan’s visit, the U.S, and Turkey issued a joint statement, saying in essence, that they were putting past disputes behind them. 

Blinken and Fidan, who presided over the meetings, “reiterated their commitment to a results-oriented, forward-looking, positive bilateral agenda that advances shared objectives and addresses emerging global challenges.”

They include, to a significant extent, “Russia’s unacceptable war” against Ukraine. Turkey has played a key role in facilitating Ukrainian grain exports from its Black Sea ports, while Turkey also recently announced a mine countermeasure task group, which the U.S. welcomed. 

The U.S. and Turkey also agreed on “the need to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.” That includes a shared fight against ISIS, but also the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

The U.S., likeTurkey, as well as the European Union, considers the PKK a terrorist organization. However, there is a major dispute over the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF.) The core of the SDF is the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), and the SDF is America's main local partner in the fight against ISIS in Syria. 

Yet Turkey considers the YPG to be the Syrian branch of the PKK. 

Fidan held a press conference for Turkish journalists at the end of his visit in which he summarized the results. His remarks included a discussion of Turkey’s disagreements with Washington. 

One such issue was Syria, including U.S. support for the SDF.

“We once again underlined our dissatisfaction with the relations with the YPG in Syria and the strategic danger that poses,” Fidan told journalists. He also said thatTurkish officials continued to “maintain our will to create a 30-40 kilometer deep security corridor along our Syrian border.”

“We are determined to fill with new steps the gaps in this corridor,” he continued, “part of which we have already established with our previous operations.” 

The other issue on which the U.S. and Turkey disagree concerns the war in Gaza, although this disagreement is more a matter of emphasis than a major dispute.

Turkey wants a quick cease-fire and is not particularly concerned with the terms on which it is reached. The U.S. also wants a cease-fire, but it is concerned that the terms do not leave Israel vulnerable to further attack.

Indeed, the latest U.S. statements place the failure to reach an agreement on Hamas’s unwillingness to accept the deal on the table.

Fidan also spoke about the accomplishments of his visit. They include agreement on Turkey’s purchase of additional F-16s and the modernization kits for the planes it already has.

As Fidan explained, the political process regarding the purchase has been completed and “what follows is actually the technical process that will continue between ministries of defense and relevant companies.”

Like the joint statement issued by the U.S. and Turkey, Fidan stressed the importance of looking forward, after the earlier strains. 

There is the opportunity to open a new page in bilateral relations, he said, with “a renewed psychology and a more positive agenda.”