US needs Turkey more than Turkey needs US: envoy

Turkey’s envoy to the United States says Washington needs Ankara more, citing its role in Middle East if the former wants to carry out operations in the region.

Serdar Kilic told Anadolu Agency that US lawmakers think Turkey needs the US and is supposed to do whatever the US wants it to do.

“But that is not true. Turkey does not need the US,” said Kilic, and stressed that the NATO allies have a “mutual relationship.”

He said Turkey is the country the US is going to need the most should it want to carry out operations in the Middle East.

“Therefore, Turkey needs the US as much as the US needs Turkey; even the US needs Turkey more,” he added.

His remarks came amid recent congressional efforts against Turkey, including sanctions and recognising Armenia genocide claims in 1915, which cleared the House of Representatives and Senate floors in recent weeks.

Turkey: Erdogan threatens to shut down 2 US bases

Kilic said lawmakers behind the moves are benefitting from the bills and harming Turkish-American relations. He warned that the sanctions threat is an “extremely wrong approach.”

US President Donald Trump signed Friday a massive defense spending bill which included several anti-Turkey items.

The ambassador said sanctions and the Armenia resolutions are on shaky ground and brought up for political ambitions.

“We should see that these steps are harming Turkish-US relations,” he added.

Read: US Senate passes resolution recognising Armenian genocide