Erdogan sees better relations with US under Trump

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said today that he believes Ankara’s dialogue with the United States will gain pace after President-elect Donald Trump takes office and that they will reach a consensus on regional issues.

Relations between Washington and Turkey – a NATO ally key to the US-led fight against Daesh in Syria and Iraq – have deteriorated sharply since a failed military coup in July.

Erdogan and the government blame the abortive putsch on Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic cleric who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, and want him extradited. Gulen denies involvement in the coup.

They have also been angered by Turkish support for a Kurdish militia group battling Daesh in Syria. Turkey sees the group as an extension of the PKK, which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey and has been behind a spate of recent bombings.

“I believe we will accelerate dialogue when Mr Trump takes office. I believe we will reach a consensus with Mr Trump, particularly on regional issues,” Erdogan told Turkish ambassadors gathered in Ankara for an annual conference.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier told the envoys that he believed Trump would not make the same mistakes as the outgoing US administration in relations with Turkey.

He said Turkey expects Washington to extradite Gulen and to end its cooperation with the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.