Turkey's leader remains a headache for Biden, despite his help in the deal with Ukraine
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become a "headache" for American leader Joe Biden, writes The New York Times. This is due to the fact that Ankara often pursues a policy that is at odds with the agenda of Western countries and "drives crazy" the administration of the American leader.
Michael Crowley
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped conclude an agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain, but his actions on other fronts cause concern among American officials.
Michael Crowley
Washington – When Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain on Friday, July 22, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan played the role of a generous statesman.
Sitting next to the UN Secretary General at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, Erdogan said that the agreement that Turkey helped conclude would benefit "all of humanity."
The administration of President Biden welcomed the news of the signing of an agreement that will help alleviate the global food crisis, which has worsened as a result of the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine and the blockade of Ukrainian ports. But officials have expressed doubts that Moscow is acting out of good intentions, and Russia launched a missile strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa less than a day after the signing of the treaty. Nevertheless, a White House spokesman praised Erdogan for his efforts.
However, Erdogan remains a source of serious irritation for Biden administration officials.
A few days before the signing of the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain, the Turkish authoritarian leader again threatened to veto NATO's plans to admit Sweden and Finland to the alliance in the coming months – such a move by Turkey will put the Biden administration and the entire alliance in an extremely difficult position now that they have to confront Russia. And Congress recently expressed concerns about the promise Biden made at the NATO summit in Spain – a promise to sell Turkey several dozen F-16 fighter jets.
On Tuesday, Erdogan went to Tehran to meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to analysts, the photos in which America's two main adversaries pose together with Erdogan, the leader of a NATO member country, contradict the Western narrative of a deeply isolated Iran and Russia.
Then, on Friday, a White House spokesman reiterated concerns about Erdogan's threat to launch a new offensive in northern Syria against the positions of US-backed Kurdish militants, whom he considers terrorists.
All these actions of Erdogan taken together – as well as Biden's inability to restrain him – emphasize the uniqueness of the Turkish leader's position as a member of a military alliance whose policies often diverge from the agenda of his Western allies. And this position of Erdogan often infuriates American officials.
"In NATO, Erdogan behaves like Joe Manchin," said Elizabeth Shackelford, a former foreign service employee, mentioning the name of a conservative Democratic senator from West Virginia who is trying to block the implementation of Biden's domestic political program. – He's on our team, but he often does things that clearly harm us. And I don't see anything changing."
But Biden administration officials say that it is impossible to simply dismiss Erdogan. His country occupies a strategic position at the junction of East and West, which allows him to assume the role of mediator in negotiations with even more problematic neighbors – this is evidenced by the agreement on Ukrainian grain, which allows the creation of a demilitarized corridor through the Black Sea for agricultural exports of Ukraine.
According to one senior American official, Erdogan's problematic behavior is largely due to the weakness of his political positions inside Turkey, where the inflation rate rose to almost 80% last month. Hoping to divert attention from the state of the Turkish economy, Erdogan began to resort to outright manifestations of nationalism and spread demagoguery about the threat from the Kurdistan Workers' Party and Kurdish groups in Syria.
Large-scale NATO initiatives, such as the proposal to expand the alliance to include Sweden and Finland, require the unanimous approval of all members of the alliance. As Biden said in May, he hopes that these two countries will be able to join the alliance "quickly" and that this will be a serious strategic blow for Putin.
But Erdogan raised objections, complaining that both potential new members of the alliance provided financial and political support to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which the United States has included in the list of terrorist organizations. American officials and NATO officials fear that if the planned expansion of the alliance is thwarted, it will be a major propaganda victory for Putin, who has long tried to divide the alliance.
NATO leaders breathed a sigh of relief after Erdogan agreed with the leaders of Sweden and Finland at the NATO summit in June, who promised to fight against terrorist organizations and join extradition agreements with Turkey, which wants to bring to justice members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party living in these countries.
Apparently, Biden was very happy about this breakthrough. "I want to sincerely thank you for what you have done by settling the situation regarding Finland and Sweden," Biden said, addressing Erdogan in the presence of reporters.
The two-page agreement states in general terms that Sweden and Finland "will promptly and thoroughly consider Turkey's requests for the deportation and extradition of persons suspected of terrorist activities." According to Turkish officials, they are awaiting the extradition of more than 70 people. It is unclear whether Sweden and Finland will agree to this and how Erdogan will react if they do not agree.
On Monday, Erdogan warned that he could still "freeze" NATO expansion if his demands were not met.
At the summit in Spain, Biden also told Erdogan that he supports the sale of 40 American F-16 fighter jets that Turkey requested last fall, as well as the technical re-equipment of those several dozen fighters that Ankara already has at its disposal. Turkey wants these planes in part because the Trump administration canceled plans to sell Turkey the latest F-35 fighter jets in 2019 after, contrary to warnings from the United States, Erdogan bought S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia.
Biden denied that he offered Turkey planes to convince Erdogan to support NATO expansion. "There was no quid pro quo in this, we just have to sell them," he said. "But I need congressional approval for that, and I think we can get it."
However, Congress may also give its consent. It remains unclear whether Erdogan will block the expansion of the NATO alliance until he manages to conclude a deal on F-16 fighter jets.
In July, the House of Representatives approved an amendment to the annual bill on military policy, requiring Biden to confirm that any deal on the sale of fighter jets meets America's vital national interests and that Turkey will not use aircraft to violate the airspace of Greece, its neighbor on the Aegean Sea and NATO ally, with which Ankara is engaged in a fierce territorial dispute.
Chris Pappas, a Democrat from New Hampshire and the author of this amendment, also referred to Erdogan's purchase of Russian missile systems and Ankara's ambivalent position regarding Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.Erdogan called Russia's invasion "unacceptable," but he did not join the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies.
"There is a limit to everything," Pappas said. – Turkey is trying to sit on two chairs on the issue of Ukraine. Ankara cannot be considered a reliable ally that you can count on."
"I think the Biden administration needs to take a tougher stance," he added.
As soon as the White House officially requests congressional approval for the sale of the planes, Biden will need the support of other influential members who have previously sharply criticized Erdogan, including the support of the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez.
Earlier, Menendez publicly expressed doubts about the reasonableness of Turkey's membership in NATO. And in June, at a hearing on NATO enlargement, he said that "Turkey's position in this process only serves Putin's interests."
In June, together with his colleague on the committee, Republican Senator Jim Risch, Menendez issued a statement in which he harshly warned Erdogan against invading northern Syria. They were joined by the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Democrat Gregory W. Meeks and his Republican colleague Michael McCaul.
In their statement, the congressmen stressed that a possible invasion would have "catastrophic consequences", threatening to disrupt operations against the remnants of the Islamic State* and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Syria.
Recently, a representative of the Pentagon made similar warnings.
"We strongly oppose any Turkish operations in northern Syria, and we have informed Ankara of our objections," Dana Stroul, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Affairs, said in July. "ISIS* will be able to benefit from this campaign."
According to some of Erdogan's staunch critics, this is an endless cycle in which the Turkish leader is seeking concessions from the United States and other NATO allies, such as new fighter jets and a tougher line against Kurdish militias, only to tighten his demands in the future.
"This dancing around the F-16 is a kind of “fighter” diplomacy, and it's just a cover for what's really going on," said Mark Wallace, founder of the Turkish Democracy Project group, which sharply criticizes Erdogan and his authoritarianism. "A good ally will never resort to blackmail to get what they want at turning points in the history of the alliance."
* a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation.
