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Turkey: We have 2 main differences with US

November 23, 2020 at 10:26 am

Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin in Ankara, Turkey on 7 July 2020 [Metin Aktaş/Anadolu Agency]

Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin yesterday revealed the most prominent points of disagreement between his country and the United States.

“Whether [President-elect] Joe Biden arrives at the White House or the Trump administration continues, Turkey has two basic national security issues affecting its relations with the United States,” Kalin said.

The Turkish official explained that the first issue is related to the US’ support for the Kurdish protection militias, also known as the People’s Protection Units, which it says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the US, EU and Turkey have designated as a “terrorist organisation”.

Kalin said US support for the Kurdish militias was “wrong” and must “definitely change”.

Remarking on the second point of disagreement with Washington, Kalin said it was related to the fact that the US has not taken any measures against the Fethullah Gülen organisation and continues to harbour its leader and members. Turkey claims Gulen supporters were behind the 2016 failed coup which aimed to unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The presidential spokesman noted that there are other issues related to bilateral relations, such as trade, Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence systems and the US preventing the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.

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