By Barçın Yinanç
Bilateral ties with the United States have seen many ups and downs. Currently, the Turkish-US relationship is going through one of those up periods, according to a high-level Turkish official.
US President Donald Trump is now on the record saying he might not have attended the NATO summit, had Turkey not been the host. The two capitals are also looking to use Trump’s time in Ankara to turn it into a state visit, although they are still working on the details.
The answer to why the relationship is enjoying such a positive and promising period is not limited to the bromance between Trump and his Turkish counterpart.
The same bromance existed during Trump 1.0, but good chemistry at the top did not trickle down to the bureaucratic level.
As Washington sees China as its greatest challenge and wants to shift its resources to Asia, it wants to make sure that the vacuum they leave behind, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, leads neither to deeper instabilities nor gets filled by its adversaries, according to the Turkish official speaking at a closed-door meeting.
Trump sees Turkey among the countries the US can rely on.
“The US realizes that Turkey needs stability in the region since, unlike some other actors, it cannot feed on conflict, active or frozen. Second, the kind of stability Turkey seeks is not of a hegemonic nature. We are not strong enough to do that. We are not trying to impose an order of our own, but want a working relationship with the countries in our vicinity. Still, we have all the capabilities to build a stable environment around ourselves in cooperation with our partners, like economy, strong army with a robust defense industry, good political understanding of the region, soft power,” said the official.
CLEARING THE WAY
As the US wants a more functional strategic partnership with Turkey, the two sides have started to get rid of obstacles to that goal.
The change of regime in Syria coincided with Trump 2.0 and the hardest bone of contention has quickly turned into the most promising area of cooperation between Turkey and the US, according to the official.
Ukraine is another area where Turkey and the US agree on the need to stop the war, which has enabled Ankara to work in tandem with the US on the mediation process.
Interests converge on the Caucasus as well and Ankara welcomed US intervention to the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, providing a much-needed vital momentum.
STICKING POINTS REMAIN
There are still issues where the two do not see eye-to-eye. Turkey does not agree with the military option chosen by the US to tackle the Iran problem, but even on this issue the two capitals find a way to work closely, according to the official, who added that Gaza remains another problematic area in the bilateral ties.
As far as the clear-out of obstacles, in addition to the US shift on its approach towards the YPG, seen as the PKK’s wing in Syria, the Halkbank case, which was another major headache, is also now being resolved.
The two capitals are also working to solve their problems in the defense area.
Trump 2.0 is more committed than any previous administration to leaving the CAATSA sanctions issue behind and expanding the scope of defense-industrial cooperation, according to the Turkish official.
WHAT'S NEXT IN ANKARA
Indeed, it was revealed this week that Trump is planning to push ahead with the sale of dozens of jet engines to Turkey despite objections from some members of the US Congress.
“I'm going to probably do something that will make them very happy,' said Trump when asked about the engines which will power Turkey’s first indigenous combat jet Kaan.
Turkey’s wish to return to the F-35 joint production program remains unsolved, although the two sides are working closely at all levels to find a creative formula to fulfill the political and legal requirements, according to the Turkish side.
US Vice President JD Vance confirmed that a review was underway to see if Turkey has complied with U.S. laws so it can receive the F-35 fighter jets.
'Pete and the entire team are reviewing this right now, because there are certain things that we have to certify have happened ... to comply with American law,' he said, referring to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Meanwhile, although Israel’s consistent targeting of Turkey is not affecting the Turkish-US relationship, the Israeli lobby’s influence is one of the major reasons behind Congress’s negative view of Ankara, according to the official:
“The Trump administration understands that this issue is not of Turkey’s making. It's not because we had done something. But they understand that it is mostly because of the Israelis' own policies that this issue has come to the surface so much.”
