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 Turkey |  United States |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Turkey, Washington, D.C. | Embassy of the United States, Ankara |
| Envoy | |
| Turkish Ambassador to the United StatesSedat Önal | U.S. Ambassador to TurkeyTom Barrack |
The Republic of Türkiye and the United States of America established diplomatic relations in 1927. Relations afterWorld War II evolved from theSecond Cairo Conference in December 1943 and Turkey's entrance into World War II on the side of theAllies in February 1945. Later that year, Turkey became a charter member of theUnited Nations. Since 1945, both countries advanced ties under theliberal international order, put forward by the U.S., through a set of global, rule-based, structured relationships based on political and economic liberalism. As a consequence, bilateral relations have advanced under theG20,OECD,Council of Europe,OSCE,WTO,IMF, theWorld Bank, theEuro-Atlantic Partnership Council, andNATO.[1]
During theinterwar period (1918–1939), Turkey and the United States laid the groundwork for cooperation without a defined strategic interest.[2] The U.S. sent a Congressional delegation to emphasize trade and business, along with non-missionary philanthropy and other cultural enterprises,[2] such as archaeological expeditions sponsored by American universities.[2]
DuringWorld War II (1939–1945), oil was set to become increasingly important for American interests. PresidentRoosevelt had a geo-strategic plan in mind at theAnglo-American Petroleum Agreement in 1944. His successor, PresidentTruman stressed the importance of Turkey's geo-strategic location and its "proximity to the great natural resources".[2] In the following decades, as the United States has been engaged inoil wars in the Middle East, Turkey has supported the U.S. in some capacity, directly or indirectly, by giving authorization for the use of theIncirlik Air Base. After World War II, theMandate for Palestine, which was established within the formerOttomanvilayet of Syria after thedissolution andpartition of the Ottoman Empire, was terminated by the result of theIsraeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948. The United States recognized Israel on January 31, 1949, and Turkey followed suit on March 28, 1949. Four decades later, on November 15, 1988, Turkeyrecognized thePalestinian Declaration of Independence on the same day it was announced. Even before the Cold War, relations between Turkey and the United States regarding the Middle East were set to a course based on two dimensions: The first dimension waspetroleum politics, and the second dimension was the fate of thePalestinians (Palestinian territories and atwo-state solution).
During theCold War (1945–1991), theTurkish Straits crisis of 1945 developed over the request byJoseph Stalin forSoviet military bases in theTurkish Straits as a part ofSoviet territorial claims against Turkey, which prompted the United States to declare theTruman Doctrine in 1947.[3] In 1947, theOffice of Defense Cooperation Turkey was established as part of theUnited States Security Assistance Organizations to assist in modernization programs, develop interoperability, promote cooperation, and integrate Turkey into the Western system. As a result of the integration, Turkey became part of the intelligence operations (1960 U-2), and the missile systems (1962 Missile Crisis). At the same time, the geopolitical strategic foreign policy,Containment, caused a response from the Soviet Union in the form of increased communist influence in Turkey. In 1964, PresidentJohnson disclosed the reluctance among Western powers to defend Turkey in what became known as theJohnson letter. The U.S.war on drugs created a backlash when Turkish farm workers employed inpoppy production lost their jobs.Anti-Americanism developed amongleft-wing extremists in Turkey. In 1969, AmbassadorKomer's car was set on fire by theMarxist-LeninistDev-Genç during his visit ofMustafa Kemal Kurdaş at theMiddle East Technical University, in which the nascent institution was developed using the aid given by the United States.[4] In the coming years, Turkey became a front for the clashes between far-left and far-right militant groups, as thepolitical violence in Turkey (1976–1980) developed as part of the worldwide incidents ofleft-wing terrorism aimed at overthrowing the liberal and capitalist governments and replacing them with communist or socialist regimes. According to theU.S. State Department, the United States has an interest in keeping Turkey anchored to the Euro-Atlantic community.[5] During and after the Cold War, the U.S. supported theaccession of Turkey to the European Union, as Turkey would be aligned with European norms and standards in many domains.[6]
Over the 2010s, Turkey has evolved into a much more independent geopolitical player, but at the same time, the country became less predictable. As the instability in the region increased, Turkey was also no longer an "island of stability" for the United States, but a source of new, often unexpected impulses on a regional scale.
Following the delivery of the firstS-400 missile system from Russia, Turkey was excluded from theF-35 Joint Strike Fighter program on July 17, 2019,[7] and on December 14, 2020, the U.S. government decided to apply sanctions on Turkey, a NATO member, for violating theCAATSA law of 2017 by purchasing the S-400 missile system fromRosoboronexport, a Russian state agency in the CAATSA sanctions list.[8] The deterioration of bilateral relations was not limited to the military in this period, as evident in the dispute over theArmenian genocide, which the United States formally recognized in 2021.
The headquarters of NATO'sAllied Land Command (LANDCOM) is inİzmir, Turkey. İzmir also hosted the headquarters of NATO'sAllied Air Command İzmir (AIRSOUTH) between 2004 and 2013, when theAllied Air Command (AIRCOM) at theRamstein Air Base in Germany became the sole Allied Air Component Command of NATO.[9]
According to theU.S. Department of State, Turkey has been a key partner for U.S. policy in the surrounding region.[5] Turkey has partnered with the U.S. for security in Afghanistan (ISAF), and serves as NATO's vital eastern and southern anchor, controlling (per theMontreux Convention of 1936) theTurkish Straits, i.e. theBosporus and theDardanelles. Turkey has contributed and continues to contribute to international security alongside U.S. forces in Europe (e.g. inBosnia,IFOR,KFOR,Baltic Air Policing, etc.), and the seas bordering theHorn of Africa. Turkey borders Georgia (Russo-Georgian War), Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh conflict), Iraq (Iraqi conflict), Syria (Syrian civil war) and Iran (hostile to the United States since therevolution in 1979). Conflicts in the aforementioned countries have affected the relations between Turkey and the United States.
After 1780, the United States began relations with North African countries and theOttoman Empire.[10] In the early 1800s, the US fought theBarbary Wars against the Barbary states, which were under Ottoman suzerainty. The Ottomans severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 20, 1917, after the United States declared war against Germany on April 4, 1917, due to the Ottoman–German alliance. Normal diplomatic relations were re-established with the Ottoman Empire's successor state, Turkey, in 1927.[11]
Thestrategic partnership characterized the exceptionally close economic and military relations during Cold War and the war on terror.
From 1952 to 1991, the relationship premised on a "mutuality of benefits".
| United States | Turkey |
|---|---|
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After participating with United Nations forces in theKorean War, Turkey joined theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1952.[13] The second-largest army belongs toTurkey in NATO and host of theAllied Land Command headquarters including theIncirlik (1955–present) andKonya Airbases (2000–present).
Turkey was one of the founding members ofCentral Treaty Organization (CENTO), which promoted shared political and military economic goals similar to and modeled like NATO. The US pressured and promised military and economic aid to be the founding member. The US was not a member. The defensive organization never became functional partly due to the lack of leadership asJohn Foster Dulles (United States Secretary of State) claimed that the administration could not obtain Congressional approval."[14]
The U.S. actively supportedTurkey's membership bid to join theEuropean Union and frequently lobbied on behalf ofAnkara through its diplomatic missions in EU capital cities.
In 2001, war on terror, the relationship began with the premise of the United States fostering cooperation on counterterrorism, law enforcement, and military training and education.[15] Turkey remained a close ally of the United States and provided support in the war on terror.
| Turkey | United States |
|---|---|
| Goal: Territorial Integrity | Goal: Achieve stability and a reduced threat of terrorism from Iraq and Afghanistan |
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In 2013, the US and Turkey created a $200 million fund to help stem extremism by undercutting the ideological and recruiting appeal of jihadists in places like Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan.[16] It was the first global effort to support local, community-level initiatives aimed at strengthening democratic values, empathy towards the enemies and development of countering values to preventviolent extremism. When asked Kerry defined the strategic goal "It's a different kind of challenge and we believe we need to intensify our efforts to address the underlying factors that lead down the path of violence, It's about building foundational security, challenging the narrative of violence to refuse to justify the slaughtering of people."[17] In short, the program was based on the role of education in preventing violent extremism and deradicalizing young people.
| United States | Turkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Gulf War | Chief of the Turkish General Staff, GeneralNecip Torumtay resigned to prevent Turkey's active engagement.[18] | |
| Iraq War | The "hood event" was perceived as an act of U.S. hostility in Turkey. | Turkey denied opening of US ground front (northern front). |
| Syrian Civil War | ArmedPeople's Protection Units (YPG). | PerformedOperation Olive Branch in 2018 andOperation Peace Spring in 2019 against YPG which Turkey accepts as the branch ofKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).[19] Determined to destroy 'Terror Corridor' (autonomous region)[20] |
US Congressional Research Service (CRS) stated that "Turkey's relative importance for U.S. policymakers declined in the immediate aftermath of theGulf War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, but focus remained on a number of regional developments involving Turkey."[21] According to CRS a "reassessment period" established between 1991 and 2002. CRS timeline for 1991–2002 showed that the US established a "No-Fly Zone" in the north of Iraq, and later withheld military loans to Turkey on alleged human rights violations in relation to PKK in 1994.[21] In 1997, the US designated the PKK as a foreign terrorist organization and PKK's activities stopped following its leader was captured with US assistance in 1999.[21] In 2003, the Turkish parliament did not allow the US invasion of Iraq from Turkey, and the following year PKK resumed insurgency and attacks from northern Iraq.[21]
With President Obama, we had a mutual agreement about the PKK – but Obama deceived us. I don't believe the Trump administration will do the same.[22]
Since US PresidentBarack Obama mediated tensions between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, May 31, 2010, over theGaza flotilla raid, some neoconservatives have called for Turkey's expulsion from NATO.[23] Tom Rogan fromNational Review promoted expelling Turkey from NATO as part of his broader efforts to reform the alliance.[24] Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at theCato Institute, also proposed expelling Turkey from the Western alliance.[25] A breakpoint risen in 2015. While claiming Turkey turned a blind eye to ISIL and other jihadist networks on both sides of its border, US began openly arming thePeople's Protection Units (a militia related toKurdistan Workers' Party).[26] However the US-ledOperation Inherent Resolve against ISIL was on June 15, 2014, five months before Turkey performed theJanuary 2014 Turkish airstrike in Syria. Another breakpoint had risen in 2016. Caused by the belief among most Turkish citizens that America had a hand in the2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt. It was compounded by the fact that its suspected ringleader, theIslamic preacherHocaFethullah Gülen, lives inSaylorsburg, Pennsylvania.[26] Shortly after theFETÖ's (the Gülen movement) purges and arrests (2016–present purges in Turkey), on October 4, 2016, Turkey moved to arrest Turkish nationals employed at American consulates (Metin Topuz on espionage and conspiracy charges), followed on the October 7, 2016, arrest ofpastor and teaching elderEvangelical PresbyterianAndrew Brunson.[26] On October 10, 2016, in regards toJohn R. Bass, Turkey declared: "We do not consider the ambassador a representative of the United States" which was a step short of being anunwanted person.[26] The response came on May 16, 2017John McCain andClaire McCaskill called for the expulsion (unwanted person) of the Turkish ambassadorSerdar Kılıç,[27] following the2017 clashes at the Turkish Ambassador's Residence in Washington, D.C.[26]
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According toThe Economist, Turkish-American relations sank to their lowest in over 40 years in October 2017.[26] Turkey moved to establishsafe zone (Syria). Turkey performed theOperation Olive Branch (March 25, 2018 – August 9, 2019) against the YPG. Turkey established theNorthern Syria Buffer Zone. On August 10, 2018, Trump tweeted that he would double tariffs (first Trump tariffs) on Turkish steel and aluminum using the "Section 232" which was imposed on countries whose exports threaten to impair national security. With both internal structural weaknesses and US sanctions,Economy of Turkey fall intoTurkish economic crisis (2018–current). From October 9 to 17, 2019, theOperation Peace Spring established theSecond Northern Syria Buffer Zone. US lost trust in Turkey as the latter bombed its own military base at the Northern Syria Buffer Zone.[29] On February 5, 2020, the US halted a secretive military intelligence cooperation program with Turkey against theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which was listedas a terrorist organization by the US and Turkey.[30] Turkey hadobservation posts in theIdlib demilitarization (2018–2019) zone which held more than 3,000,000internally displaced Syrians (more than half of them children).[31] On February 27, 2020, Syrian forces attacked Turkish forces at the Idlib demilitarization (2018–2019) zone, and military separation between the forces became public after a senior US State Department official argued with the Pentagon over Turkey's request for two Patriot batteries on its southern border.[32] The request was confirmed by Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.[33] On October 12, 2023, President Biden declared "particularly the actions by the Government of Turkey to conduct a military offensive into northeast Syria, undermines the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, endangers civilians, and further threatens to undermine the peace, security, and stability in the region". Following this declaration President Biden reestablished Executive Order 13894 which stated Turkey is an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the situation in and in relation to Syria.[34] Following the2023 Ankara bombing on October 1, 2023, Turkish intelligence officials established that the assailants arrived from Syria, where they had been trained, by paragliders.[35] Six days before the declaration, on October 5, Turkey beganbombing their facilities in Syria.[36]CJTF–OIRdowned a Turkish drone, while doing airstrikes on PKK militants around Hassakeh, which came within 500 m of American troops.[37] A day before the executive order was made public, on October 11, Turkey declared to intensify strikes on the PKK in Iraq and Syria.[38]
It is evident that the Turks do not want to be sidelined by the US or the West when it comes to their own national security concerns. Neither do they want to be hamstrung by easily severed logistics. Clearly, they want to be, and have been thinking about becoming, important players in regional politics, and their public national security policy says as much. They have become involved at every opportunity in multi-national military interventions. They have shown a willingness to defy the US. They have industrial and procurement plans aimed at strategic autonomy.[39]
The 2010s were a period of deterioration specifically over the US policies in Syria. According to theCouncil on Foreign Relations, the United States needs to adjust its expectations, ask for less, and develop other options, because despite being a NATO ally, Turkey's interests do not completely align with those of the United States on all regional or global issues.[40] In 2018, the Council on Foreign Relations recommended that "the U.S. needs to develop alternatives toIncirlik Air Base. The use of the base to advance U.S. interests is no longer assured."[40] Increase US-Greece cooperation. In 2019, the United States and Greece signed the "Revised Defense Cooperation Agreement". The agreement was described as critical to responding to new security challenges in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. In 2021, the "Greek-American Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement" permitted the U.S. military to use the Georgula Barracks in Greece's central province of Volos, Litochoro Training Ground, and army barracks in the northeastern port city of Alexandroupoli apart from the naval base in Souda Bay in Crete which the US has been operating since 1969.[41] In short couple years, Turkey saw shifting NATO powers to its western neighbor.Anadolu Agency reported growing US military presence in Greece can lead to undesired scenarios in the Aegean ‘Deploying more US troops to Greece would disrupt NATO's powers,’[42] In 2020, Turkey was added toCAATSA, and the partnership worsened from ambivalent allies of the 2010s to antagonists.[40] In 2021, PresidentBiden formally recognized the Armenian genocide, while emphasizing U.S. relations with Armenia.[43] After Azerbaijani forces blocked theZangezur corridor in 2023,American Enterprise Institute scholarMichael Rubin called Biden to act,[44] and to start talks with Armenia to establish a military base in the Zangezur corridor.[45] On September 11, 2023, a small contingent of U.S. special forces trained with Armenian soldiers during the "Eagle Partner" exercise in Armenia.[46] As of 2025, Armenia still hosts theRussian 102nd Military Base inGyumri and theRussian 3624th Airbase inErebuni Airport nearYerevan, and still usesSoviet orRussian-made military equipment.
One of Turkey's most important international relationships has been with the United States since the end of the Second World War and the beginning of theCold War.[citation needed]
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In 1945, theTurkish Straits crisis developed over the request for Russian military bases in theTurkish Straits as part ofSoviet territorial claims against Turkey. After World War II, the Soviet government pressured Turkey to allow Russian shipping to pass freely through theTurkish Straits. Tensions in the region led to a show of naval force by the Soviets after Turkey refused to comply with the Soviet Union's requests.
In 1946,President Truman returned the body ofMünir Ertegün, former Turkish Ambassador to Washington (2nd Ambassador of Turkey to the United States), back to Istanbul with the battleshipMissouri. Missouri, with her 1,515 officers and enlisted men, honored the deceased between March 21, 1946, Washington, and April 5 Istanbul, until his body was given to his family. It was a gesture not only toTurkish foreign service but also to demonstrate that the US was defending Turkey against Soviet threats.[47]
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in 1947, British assistance to Turkey ended. The U.S. dispatched military aid to ensure that Turkey would retain chief control of the passage. Turkey began to associate with the United States in 1947 when theUnited States Congress designated Turkey, under the provisions of the "Truman Doctrine", as the recipient of special economic and military assistance intended to help it resist threats from the Soviet Union.[48]
TheTruman Doctrine was an American foreign policy that sought to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. The Truman Doctrine used adherence to democracy in its strategic goals. Truman used the advancement of liberal Democracy to secure congressional aid for Turkey. Truman's strategic imperatives and democratic rhetoric against communist ideology held that, because of US assistance against the Soviets, Turkey moved away from a single-party system towards a multi-party system. There is no causal link between Turkey's democratization and either the Truman Doctrine or Turkey's admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).[49] InAtatürk's Reforms,Mustafa Kemal Atatürk envisioned a multi-party-based system. However, Turkey was a " de facto single-party state" (the correct term isone-party period of the Republic of Turkey) as theRepublican People's Party effectively prevented the opposition from winning the elections. Turkey held the first multi-party elections in 1946.Multi-party period of the Republic of Turkey began with theDemocratic Party government ofAdnan Menderes.[49]
The U.S. sought thecontainment strategy at the beginning of the Korean War to defendRepublic of Korea (ROK) from acommunist invasion byDemocratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). In support of the US' overall Cold War strategy, Turkey contributed to the United Nations forces in theKorean War (1950–53).[48] On October 19, 1950, with more than 4,500 troopsTurkish Brigade attached to theU.S. 25th Infantry Division. The Turkish Brigade was the only foreign unit of its size permanently attached to a U.S. division (Brothers in Arms). Turkey replaced/replenished this Brigade each year (15,000 combat soldiers and a total of 21,212) until mid-summer of 1954. A mutual interest in containing Soviet expansion provided the foundation of US–Turkish relations for the next four decades.[48]
After extensive study and debate on extending the alliance to the eastern Mediterranean, the admission of Greece and Turkey to NATO on February 18, 1952, was finalized. The membership of these two countries created NATO's new southern flank. Changes were needed to the treaty's wording to expand its territorial reach. Turkey's admission to NATO gave NATO a much longer land border with theWarsaw Pact. The 1936Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits gave Turkey control over theTurkish Straits, through which theSoviet Navy'sBlack Sea Fleet had access to the Mediterranean. At the same time, Turkey brought to the alliance its second-largest body of military workforce after that of the United States, in addition to access to sites for forward deployment and intelligence gathering.[48]
SinceAtatürk's Reforms, Turkey has wanted to be part of the Western alliance. Turkey also intended to enter into the Western economic structure. The Truman Doctrine aimed to prevent the spread of communism in Turkey. It aimed to change Turkey's isolated economy (statist structure) to move into a liberal system. Marshall subsidies created economic added value in Turkey. The Marshal Plan also directed Turkey toward higher military spending (the second-largest military in NATO) due to its being seen mainly as a buffer state against the Soviet Union and the Middle East.[50]
Turkey received $111 million in economic and military aid, and the U.S. sent theaircraft carrierFranklin D. Roosevelt.[citation needed] The Marshall Plan intended to direct Turkey towards developments in the agriculture, mining, and tourism sectors. Tractors and other agricultural equipment entered the country, sparking a production boom.The aid to the Turkish military went back to the US military-industrial complex. .[51]
Turkey was a founding member of theCentral Treaty Organization (CENTO) collective defense pact established in 1955, and endorsed the principles of the 1957Eisenhower Doctrine.[48] In the 1950s and 1960s, Turkey generally cooperated with other United States allies in the Middle East (Iran,Israel, andJordan) to contain the influence of countries (Egypt,Iraq, andSyria) regarded as Soviet clients.[48] Throughout the Cold War, Turkey was the bulwark ofNATO's southeastern flank and directly borderedWarsaw Pact countries.
1960 U-2 incident was aU-2spy plane shot down by theSoviet Air Defence Forces while performing photographicaerial reconnaissance deep into Soviet territory. On April 28, 1960, a U.S.Lockheed U-2C spy plane, Article 358, was ferried fromIncirlik Air Base in Turkey to the US base at Peshawar airport by pilot Glen Dunaway. Fuel for the aircraft had been ferried toPeshawar the previous day in a US Air ForceC-124 transport. AUS Air ForceC-130 followed, which carried the ground crew, mission pilotFrancis Powers, and backup pilot Bob Ericson. On the morning of April 29, the crew in Badaber was informed that the mission had been delayed by one day. As a result, Bob Ericson flew Article 358 back to Incirlik, and John Shinn ferried another U-2C, Article 360, from Incirlik to Peshawar. On April 30, the mission was delayed one more day because of bad weather over the Soviet Union.[52] On May 1, Captain Powers left the base in Peshawar on a mission with the operations code word GRAND SLAM. Four days after Powers' disappearance,NASA issued a very detailed press release noting that an aircraft had "gone missing" north of Turkey.[53]
On May 13 the Soviet Union sent complaints to Turkey, who in turn protested to the United States. Turkey acquired assurances that no U.S. aircraft would be allowed for unauthorized purposes.
Turkey risked nuclear war on its soil during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union initiated by the American discovery of Sovietballistic missile deployment inCuba. In response to the failedBay of Pigs Invasion of 1961 and the presence of AmericanJupiter ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey, Soviet leaderNikita Khrushchev agreed to Cuba's request to place nuclear missiles on the island to deter a future invasion.John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev reached an agreement. Publicly, the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba, in exchange for a US public declaration and agreement to avoid invading Cuba again. Secretly, the United States agreed to dismantle all US-builtJupiter MRBMs that had been deployed in Turkey and Italy against the Soviet Union.[54]
In 2017,The Putin Interviews claimed that the placement of Russian missiles in Cuba was a Russian reaction to the earlier stationing of American missiles in Turkey in 1961–62; Khrushchev attempted to achieve a balance of power.[55]
TheCyprus Emergency was aconflict fought inBritish Cyprus between 1955 and 1959. TheNational Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA), aGreek Cypriot right-wing nationalistguerrilla organisation, began an armed campaign in support of endingBritish colonial rule and enabling theunification of Cyprus and Greece (Enosis) in 1955. Opposition toEnosis amongTurkish Cypriots led to the formation of theTurkish Resistance Organisation (TMT) in support of thepartition of Cyprus and in the mid-1960s relations worsened between Greek and Turkish communities on Cyprus. Britain wanted to hand the crisis and a peacekeeping role to either NATO or UN forces.US President Lyndon B. Johnson tried to prevent a Turkish invasion of Cyprus and war between them. American diplomatGeorge Ball foundArchbishop Makarios, president of Cyprus, difficult to deal with, as he commonly rejected the advice.[citation needed]
The Americans secretly talked to GeneralGeorgios Grivas, leader of theEOKA guerrilla organization. While invasion and war did not occur, the U.S. alienated both the Greek and Turkish governments and drove Makarios closer to the Russians and Egyptians.[56][57] The Cyprus Emergency ended in 1959 with the signing of theLondon-Zürich Agreements, establishing theRepublic of Cyprus as a non-partitioned independent state separate from Greece.
On June 5, 1964, President LBJ sent a letter to Turkish Premierİsmet İnönü, the "Johnson letter." The most important point was NATO would be reluctant to defend Turkey.[58]
Washington, June 5, 1964, 12:15 a.m.
Dear Mr Prime Minister:
I am gravely concerned by the information which I have had through Ambassador Hare from you and your Foreign Minister that the Turkish Government is contemplating a decision to intervene by military force to occupy a portion of Cyprus. I wish to emphasize, in the fullest friendship and frankness, that I do not consider that such a course of action by Turkey, fraught with such far-reaching consequences, is consistent with the commitment of your Government to consult fully in advance with us. ... (1)NATO Allies have not had a chance to consider whether they have an obligation to protect Turkey. ... (2) your Government is required to obtain United States consent for the use of military assistance for purposes other than those for which such assistance was furnished. ... I do feel that you and I carry a very heavy responsibility for the general peace and for the possibilities of a sane and peaceful resolution of the Cyprus problem. I ask you, therefore, to delay any decisions which you and your colleagues might have in mind until you and I have had the fullest and frankest consultation.Sincerely, Lyndon B. Johnson
— Lyndon B. Johnson, President Johnson's letter to Prime Minister Inonu, The letter was released by the White House in January 1966 and printed in Middle East Journal 20 (1966), pp. 386–393.
Item 1 was the critical American position toward Turkey. Item 2 was the wake-up call. Johnson revealed to Turkey's political elite that the TAF overly depended on the US.[59] Inonu knew that he would receive a strong message. The letter leaked to the press before messenger left the building. Inonu created a reference point for the nature and intention of American policy on Turkey.[59] In the following decades, Johnson's Letter became the first-level reference when an American policy regarding Turkey was analyzed.[59] The unintended consequence of the Johnson letter showed in the public debates. What would American assistance look like if the US wanted to defend Turkey?
The US ordered the Sixth Fleet to Istanbul in August 1968. The Turkish public perceived the visit as a follow-up to the Johnson letter. The labor federations and the other left-wing groups protested the fleet. Those were the same groups that presented a heartfelt welcome in the late 1950s.[59]
Thewar on drugs is the policy of a global campaign to reduce the illegal drug trade in the United States. In controlling theillegal drug trade in Turkey, the government signed theSingle Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961, and the parliament ratified it in 1967. In 1971, Turkey imposed a ban on opium production as a result of considerable U.S. government pressure. The U.S. provided a total of $35.7 million in support for the transition of 70,000 farm workers to the cultivation of other crops. The Turkish government implemented the program under pressure from farmers who claimed lost revenue. Nationalists claimed the program was imposed under foreign pressure. During the1973 Turkish general election, all campaigning political parties expressed dissatisfaction. In 1974, Turkey moved to a system for licensing poppy production in which the state purchased all crops (no poppy market) and used them for the legal production ofpharmaceuticals by state-owned institutions (no sale to private industry).[60]
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After the1974 Cypriot coup d'état (backed by theCypriot National Guard and theGreek military junta), on July 20, 1974, Turkey invadedCyprus, claiming it was protecting the safety of Turkish Cypriots following theTreaty of Guarantee. The Turkish military occupied the northern third of Cyprus (Turkish invasion of Cyprus), dividing the island along what became known as theGreen Line monitored by the United Nations, defying the ceasefire.
Turkey repeatedly claimed, for decades before the invasion and frequently afterward, that Cyprus was of vital strategic importance to it. Ankara defied a host of UN resolutions demanding the withdrawal of its occupying troops from the island. About 142,000 Greek Cypriots living in the north and 65,000 Turkish Cypriots living in the south were forcibly expelled and were forbidden to return to their homes and properties. 109 Turkish villages were destroyed and 700 Turks were kept as hostages. Daily Telegraph described events as anti-Turkish pogrom.[61]
The United States imposed an arms embargo on Turkey in response, and relations between the two countries suffered significantly.[62] The US could not achieve its desired goal by imposing an embargo on Türkiye. However, it caused Türkiye to invest in its defense industry.[63] Soviets saw the expansion ofWarsaw Pact could have a chance in the region.[64]
In 1969, AmbassadorKomer's car was set on fire by theMarxist-LeninistDev-Genç[64] during his visit ofMustafa Kemal Kurdaş at theMiddle East Technical University. The nascent institution developed using the aid given by the United States.[4] FormerCIAcounterintelligence officerAldrich Ames decoded the organization as a part of theCIA activities in Turkey.[64]
In the coming years, Turkey became a front for the clashes between far-left and far-right militant groups, as thepolitical violence in Turkey (1976–1980) took place simultaneously with the worldwide incidents ofleft-wing terrorism aimed at overthrowing the liberal and capitalist governments and replacing them with communist or socialist regimes.
NATO support manifested in the establishment of a clandestinestay-behind army, called the "Counter-Guerrilla", underOperation Gladio.
TheArmenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), listed as aterrorist organization[65][66][67][68][69] by theUnited States Department of State,[70] carried out attacks against Turkish diplomats andTurkish Airlines offices between 1975 and 1991. The precursor to the foundation of ASALA was the assassination of Turkish Consul GeneralMehmet Baydar and Turkish ConsulBahadır Demir by Armenian AmericanKourken Yanigian, who invited them to a luncheon on January 27, 1973, inSanta Barbara, California, United States. Yanigian was sentenced to life imprisonment,[71] but manyArmenian Americans expressed support for his views.Numerous attacks by ASALA were carried out in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
The geopolitical changes in the Middle East, like theIranian Revolution, force the arms embargo was silently removed a few years later with the contribution of the National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski discussed with his staff a possible American invasion of Iran by using Turkish bases and territory if the Soviets decided to repeat the Afghanistan scenario in Iran, although this plan did not materialize.
During the 1980s, relations between Turkey and the United States gradually recovered.[70] In March 1980 Turkey and the US signed the Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement (DECA), in which the United States was granted access to 26 military facilities in return for Turkey's ability to buy modern military hardware and $450 million.[72]
Terrorism in Ba'athist Syria. Syria has been on theU.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism since the list's inception in 1979 and deems it to be a "safe haven" for terrorists.
The1983 Orly Airport attack by ASALA inParis,France, resulted in the deaths of 8 people and injury of 55 others, which caused widespread international condemnation. The United States, France and numerous other countries began listing ASALA as a terrorist organization.[65][66][67][68][69] |After the 1983 Orly Airport attack, ASALA began to reduce its activities and eventually went underground. DuringPKK-Syria (1980–1984), between 1982 and 1984, the PKK had received armed combat training by ASALA at theBeqaa Valley inLebanon and by theAssad regime inSyria.[73][74] In 1984, theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as aForeign Terrorist Organization by theU.S. State Department,[75] declared itself as a paramilitary group and began staging attacks in the villages and towns of southeastern and eastern Turkey. In 1986, U.S. withdrew ambassadorThomas J. Scotes in response to evidence of direct Syrian involvement in an attempt to blow up an Israeli airplane. After Syria expelled theAbu Nidal Organization and helped free an American hostage earlier, U.S. assignedRichard W. Murphy toDamascus in 1987.[76] At the same period, Turkey openly threatened Syria over its support for the PKK.[77] Turkey claimed that Syria employed formerSchutzstaffel officerAlois Brunner to train militants.[78]
PKK leaderAbdullah Öcalan was hosted inDamascus until 1998.
PresidentTurgut Ozal believed Turkey's future security depended on the continuation of a strong relationship with the United States.[48] Although Ankara resented continued attempts by the United States Congress to restrict military assistance to Turkey because of Cyprus and the introduction of congressional resolutions condemning theArmenian genocide, theÖzal government generally perceived the administration of PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush as sympathetic to Turkish interests.[48] At this time,Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) was established and it started to buildF-16 Fighting Falcon jets under license in Turkey.[citation needed] Washington demonstrated its support of Özal's market-oriented economic policies and efforts to open the Turkish economy to international trade by pushing for acceptance of anInternational Monetary Fund program to provide economic assistance to Turkey.[48] Furthermore, the United States, unlike European countries, did not persistently and publicly criticize Turkey over allegations ofhuman rights violations,[48] nor did it pressure Özal on theKurdish problem.[citation needed] By 1989 the United States had recovered a generally positive image among the Turkish political elite.[48]
Thepost–Cold War era represents history after thedissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. The end of theCold War forced Turkey to reassess its international position. The disappearance of theSoviet threat and the perception of being excluded from Europe created a sense of vulnerability with respect to Turkey's position in the fast-changing global political environment.[48] Turkey was anassociate member of theEEC. During Cold War the keeping the balance of power policy between Iran and Iraq was the U.S. policy, which shift to,Dual containment, containing these countries in preventing negative influence to the international community. The previous balance of power policy effectively ended as the Soviet Union was no longer around to be a security benefactor for either country. Like U.S., Turkey also adapted the changing security concernes in the region. President Özal modified the main principles of Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East, which were non-interference in intra-Arab disputes and the Middle Eastern affairs since the foundation. Turkey became proactive about its role in resolving regional conflicts. Turkey offered ideas and advice on regional issues of common concern to both countries.[48]
The role Turkey played during the Gulf War demonstrated to the public that it was one of the key actors in the region.[79] Turkey expanded ties with the Central Asian members of theCIS.[48]
Turkey supported theArab–Israeli peace process.
The Iraq'sTaha Yassin Ramadan, said he come to an opinion that Turkey would remain neutral in the conflict after meeting with President Turgut Ozal.[80] President Özal supported the United States' position during theGulf War (August 2, 1990 – January 17, 1991). Turkey's economic ties to Iraq were extensive and their disruption hurt the country.[48] Turkey lost approximately $60 billion by closing theKirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline during the conflict. Just before the war, Chief of the Turkish General Staff GeneralNecip Torumtay resigned out of disagreement in involving Turkish ground forces with the conflict,[18] which prevented Turkey's active military engagement.
Turkey allowed United Nations forces (UN SC Resolution 665) to fly missions from its air bases; by doing so Turkey remained a platform for the US attacks against Iraq for the rest of the conflict. Turkey played a role in the war by restraining a sizeable proportion of the Iraqi army on the Turkey–Iraq border.
After the war, Turkey continued to support major United States initiatives in the region, including the creation of a safe zone for Iraqi Kurds over northern Iraq.Turkey received a large number of Iraqi Kurdish refugees following the1991 uprisings in Iraq (March 1 – April 5, 1991). TheIraqi no-fly zones were two no-fly zones (NFZs) that were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom, and France to create safe zones for the internally displaced people after the war. The US and the UK claimed authorization for the NFZ based onUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 688, though not in the text. The US stated that the NFZs were intended to protect the ethnic Kurdish minority in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Turkey opened its Incirlik and Diyarbakır air bases and became involved in the ground support and intelligence operations for the northern NFZ which was initially part ofOperation Provide Comfort's relief operations before being succeeded byOperation Northern Watch.
The United States' use of Turkish military installations during the bombing of Iraq in 1991 led to anti-war demonstrations in several Turkish cities, and sporadic attacks on United States facilities in 1992 and 1993.[48] NFZs also enabled a safe haven for PKK. Turkey performed cross-border operations into northern Iraq:
In January 1995, a consensus had emerged among Turkey's political elite that the country's security depended on remaining astrategic ally of the United States. For this reason, both theDemirel (49) andÇiller (50,51,52) governments made efforts to cultivate relations with the administrations of presidentsGeorge H. W. Bush andBill Clinton.[48]
In 1996, a study group inside U.S. government led byRichard Perle constructed an approach to solving security issues of the Middle East with an emphasis on "Western values," which was titled "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm." This new approach to peace included Turkey and Jordan's cooperation with Israel, and weakening, containing, and even rolling back Syria.[81] On May 18, 1996, PresidentDemirel survived an assassination attempt by a sympathizer of the National Youth's Foundation, which was affiliated with the Welfare Party, and was carried out in protest ofmilitary cooperation agreement with Israel.[82] The military agreement was a source of anger for a segment who advocated a closer alignment with "conservative values".[82]20th Parliament of Turkey was 28.7% from Welfare Party. On June 28, 1996, the political ideology and movement founded byErbakan,Millî Görüş, assumed the position of authority in the Turkey's government (54th).
The1997 Turkish military memorandum reflecting on the concerns regarding the potential weakening of "Western values" issued by the military leadership on a National Security Council meeting resulted in the resignation of Islamist prime ministerNecmettin Erbakan of theWelfare Party. In December 1997, member of the welfare partyRecep Tayyip Erdoğan recited a modified version of the "Soldier's prayer" poem written byZiya Gökalp. Erdogan's modified version included: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets / The minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers...."[83] Erdoğan was given a ten-month prison sentence for incitement to violence and his mayoral position dropped due to conviction.[84] In 1999, the influential Islamic preacher and Sunni cleric (mufti) based in IzmirFethullah Gülen, who was imprisoned in 1971 for subversion, was facing another subversion trial.[85]
In1999 Turkish general election,Bülent Ecevit'sDemocratic Left Party (DSP) emerged as the biggest party and swept the board in most of Turkey's western provinces after the capture of Kurdistan Worker's Party's leader Abdullah Öcalan who was ousted from Syria.57th government of Turkey was a win for Ecevit andEcevitism.
Turkey saw the U.S. failure to halt PKK activities in northern Iraq (Northern Safe Zone) as evidence of a double standard with respect to terrorism and Turkey's security more broadly. Turkey performed:
In September 1998,Masoud Barzani andJalal Talabani signed the US-mediated Washington Agreement and established a formal peace treaty. In the agreement, the parties agreed to share revenue, share power, and deny the use of northern Iraq to the PKK.[86] PresidentBill Clinton signed theIraq Liberation Act into law, providing for military assistance to Iraqi opposition groups, which included the PUK and KDP. PKK insurgency waned followingSecond Army moved to the border of Syria which was followed by PKK leader's expulsion from Syria and the U.S.-assisted 1999 capture and subsequent trial and conviction.
Turkey condemned Syria for supporting theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization internationally bya number of states and organizations. Turkey and Syria nearly engaged in war (a narrowly averted conflict) when Turkey threatened military action if Syria continued to shelterAbdullah Öcalan inDamascus, his long-time safe haven. Öcalan was the leader and one of the founding members of the PKK. As a result, the Syrian government forced Öcalan to leave the country, who was captured inKenya on February 15, 1999, while being transferred from the Greek embassy toJomo Kenyatta International Airport inNairobi, in an operation by theNational Intelligence Organization (MIT) with the help of theCIA.[87]
TheAdana Agreement signed between Turkey and Syria regarding the terrorism originating (mainlyPKK) from Syria to Turkey. This agreement will be a contentious issue between U.S. and Ankara later, as Turkey will not use the powers in the agreement to move into Syria militarily against the ISIS. The Syrian government will also declare that it felt no longer bound by the agreement.
On the morning of January 24, 1993,Uğur Mumcu was killed by aC-4 plastic bomb. The assassination was initially connected by the investigation toIran. It was claimed that Iran'sMinistry of Intelligence employed theHezbollah to carry out the assassination.[88] Against the negative public opinion on Iran, theTabriz–Ankara pipeline was a priority to the54th government of Turkey. In 1996, PM Erbakan visited Tehran for the pipeline project which Iran's cooperation against PKK was part of the negotiations. This visit perceived as a snub toIran and Libya Sanctions Act.R. Nicholas Burns said: 'We have made very clear to the Turkish government that Iran is a state that should be isolated. We think that business-as-usual relations with Iran are not wise.'[89]
According toleaked diplomatic cables originating from 2004, then Prime Minister Erdoğan was described by U.S. diplomats as a "perfectionist workaholic who sincerely cares for the well-being of those around him".[90] He was also described as having "little understanding of politics beyond Ankara" and as surrounding himself with an "iron ring of sycophantic (but contemptuous) advisors". He is said to be "isolated", and that his MPs and Ministers feel "fearful of Erdogan's wrath". Diplomats state that "he relies on his charisma, instincts, and the filterings of advisors who pull conspiracy theories off the Web or are lost in neo-Ottoman Islamist fantasies".[91][92][93]
TheProject for the New American Century was established "to promote American global leadership" as the members view American leadership as good both for America and for the world, and sought to build support for "a Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity". The organization's influence originated from the twenty-five people who signed PNAC's founding statement of principles; theadministration of Bush includedDick Cheney,Donald Rumsfeld,Paul Wolfowitz, and seven others in this group in the decision-making positions.[94] During the 2000s, this group challenged regimes hostile to American interests and values, which supported unilateral military action to advance U.S. interests, particularly in the Middle East.
"Ottomanism" was primarily conceived as a reform and renewal project for the declining Ottoman Empire (Decline and modernization of the Ottoman Empire) in the 19th century. Ottomanism did not preventdissolution of the Ottoman Empire.Neo-Ottomanism as associated withAhmet Davutoğlu (Minister of Foreign Affairs, May 1, 2009 – August 29, 2014), and his foreign policy was to establish Turkey as an influential power within the Balkans, Caucasus, and the Middle East.[95]
2009 Davos incident coincided with a radical domestic transformation in one member of a Western alliance (NATO), leading to a revision of its international alliance preferences. Erdogan's outburst at the 2009 Davos Summit marked a critical juncture, signaling a shift in Turkey's national agenda and alignment policies.
Turkey had remained a close ally of the United States in thewar on terror after theSeptember 11 attacks. Turkish PresidentAhmet Necdet Sezer and Prime MinisterBülent Ecevit condemned the attacks and the Turkish government then ordered all of its flags at half-mast for one day of mourning. Turkey participated in theInternational Security Assistance Force.
According to a report by theOpen Society Foundations, Turkey participated at one point or another with the CIA'sextraordinary rendition program.[96] U.S. ambassadorRoss Wilson revealed the involvement of the Incirlik airbase in adiplomatic cable dated June 8, 2006, which described Turkey as a crucial ally in the "global war on terror" and an important logistical base for the US-led war in Iraq. On June 14, 2006, Turkish foreign ministry officials told reporters: "The Turkish government and state never played a part [in the secret transfers] ... and never will." According to evidence, the US base was a transit stop in taking detainees to secret prisons. The cable also stated: "We recommend that you do not raise this issue with TGS [Turkish general staff] pending clarification from Washington on what approach state/OSD/JCS/NSC [national security council] wish to take."[97]
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Turkey is particularly cautious about a Kurdish state arising from a destabilized Iraq. Turkey has fought an insurgent war against the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization internationally bya number of states and organizations. Iraq was a safe haven for PKK. The Iraqi Kurds were organized under the PUK and KDP, who later cooperated with American forces during the2003 invasion of Iraq.
In 2002Morton I. Abramowitz (1989–1991 US Ambassador) said, in regards to Turkey's involvement in an upcoming war: "It is hard to believe that in the end the Turks would not cooperate with the United States if war takes place, with or without UN blessing".[99] Vice PresidentDick Cheney's only trip abroad in his first three years at the office was a four-day trip to Ankara. Prime MinisterBülent Ecevit welcomed Cheney to a working dinner on March 19, who offered $228 million to aid in military efforts provided that international military operations took command of the Afghanistan peacekeeping force.[100] Turkey's position on Iraq was presented to Cheney. In December 2002, Turkey moved approximately 15,000 soldiers to its border with Iraq.[101] The2003 invasion of Iraq faced strongdomestic opposition in Turkey: opinion polls showed that 80% of Turks were opposed to the war. The Turkish Parliament's position reflected the public's. The March 1, 2003, motion at theTurkish Parliament could not reach the absolute majority of 276 votes needed to allow US troops to attack Iraq from Turkey (62,000 troops and more than 250 planes), the final tally being 264 votes for and 250 against.[102] BBC's Jonny Dymond said the knife-edge vote is a massive blow to the government which has a majority in parliament. On March 11, Abdullah Gül resigned as Turkey's Prime Minister.[103]Chief of the General Staff of TurkeyHilmi Özkök said "Turkey would suffer the effects of the war [motion also included twice as many Turkish troops to be deployed to northern Iraq]." The US did not immediately re-deploy the forces intended for staging in Turkey and the State Department asked for "clarification" of the Turkish vote.[102] In the end, the US pulled the offer of $6 billion in grants and up to $24 billion in loan guarantees, which caused Turkey's stock market to plunge by 12%.[104]
In connection with its invasion of Iraq, the United States requested that Turkey allow 62,000 soldiers to deploy from its territory and that 9 Turkish air bases allow United States bombers to deploy.[105]: 37 Tension developed when the Turkish government agreed to the request, but parliament rejected it on March 1, 2003.[105]: 37 On March 20, 2003, following a visit by United States Secretary of State Colin Powell to Ankara, an agreement was consummated to allow the United States Air Force to use Turkish airspace.[105]: 37 Relations improved in 2009 following United States President Barack Obama's visit to Turkey.[105]: 37
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On March 20, the2003 invasion of Iraq began. On July 4, 2003, Turkish military personnel that were stationed in northern Iraq were captured from their station, led away with hoods over their heads, and interrogated; this later came to be known as the "hood event". Turkish military personnel had stationed military observers in "northern safe zone" after the 1991 Gulf War. The specific unit was stationed atSulaimaniya after the civil war broke out in 1996 to monitor a ceasefire between the PUK and KDP.[106] The unit station was a historical Ottoman Empire facility (dwelling), which held the historical archives of the Ottoman Empire. Among the destroyed documents were the deed records of the region.[107] The hood event was strongly condemned by the Turkey's newspapers and referred to Americans as "Rambos" and "Ugly Americans".[108]Chief of the General Staff of TurkeyHilmi Özkök declared the incident as the sign of "crisis of confidence" between the US and Turkey.[108]
During the conflict, Ankara pressured the U.S. into subduing PKK training camps in northern Iraq. The U.S. remained reluctant due to northern Iraq's relative stability compared to the rest of the country. On October 17, 2007, theTurkish Parliament voted in favor of allowing the Turkish Armed Forces to take military action against the PKK based in northern Iraq.[109] In response, Bush stated that he did not believe it was in Turkey's interests to send troops into Iraq.[110]Operation Sun was executed February 21–29, 2008.
Turkey's fourth attempt at building a nuclear reactor, in 2002, was driven by concerns over dependence on Russian gas for electric generation. US companies did not produce any bids. In fact, Turkey received only bid—fromRosatom.[111] The bid was rejected partly due to defeating the dependency problem. Turkey's build-own-transfer approach failed.[111]
In June 2008, The United States and Turkey began to cooperate on peaceful uses of nuclear energy with a pact that aims for the transfer of technology, material, reactors, and components for nuclear research and nuclear power production in Turkey for an initial 15-year period followed by automatic renewals in five-year increments that provides a comprehensive framework for peaceful nuclear cooperation between the two nations under the agreed non-proliferation conditions and controls. A parallel U.S. bipartisan resolution highlighted the importance of the Turkish Republic's key role in safeguarding Eurasian energy security for its Western and regional allies.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies started a one-year initiative project to evaluate and enhance the Turkish Republic–United States strategic partnership, aiming for a plan of implementation of the concluded framework at the end of this phase.
After 8 years of failed attempts, due to being received as a possible nuclear proliferation front in the West (US), Turkey altered its strategy. Instead of owning a nuclear power plant, Turkey enabled vendors to own the plant. In 2010, Turkey and Russia signed an agreement for nuclear cooperation.[111] From a Eurasian energy security perspective, US lost a NATO partner (in nuclear cooperation) as this nuclear deal did not solve Turkey's dependence on Russia's natural gas, but added a second dependence on nuclear technology.[111]
Fethullah Gülen (Pasinler, Erzurum 1941 –Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania 2024) was a Turkish Islamic preacher and Sunni cleric (mufti) who was based in the U.S. since he left Turkey in March 1999, just before triedin absentia and found guilty of subverting thegovernment of Turkey (occupying senior bureaucratic and judicial positions to create aparallel state) in 2000. In 2002, Gülen applied for "green card." TheHS argued for the rejection while the CIA National Intelligence Council's former vice chairmanGraham E. Fuller, former CIA officialGeorge Fidas, and former Ambassador to TurkeyMorton Abramowitz sided with Gülen and presented affidavits. The court granted Gülen permission to reside in the U.S. Later in 2008, Gülen's conviction in Turkey was reversed by the AKP, which was facing the2008 Justice and Development Party closure trial. AKP's case against the closure trial and Gülen's subversion trial were finalized for the defendants. Prime Minister Erdogan has suggested that the closure case was a response to the government's earlier pursuit of Ergenekon, and/or Ergenekon was not a retribution for closure. Six years after the reversed conviction, in 2014, Erdogan said that Sunni cleric Gülen should return to Turkey.[112] After the 2016 failed coup,during Obama administration, it was speculated that Gülen planned to return to Turkey likeexiled Khomeini.[113]
TheGülen movement, followers of Gülen, is asub-sect ofSunni Islam based on aNursian theological perspective as reflected in Fethullah Gülen's religious teachings. Gülen movement's possible involvement in theErgenekon plot (trials) is controversial.[114] The investigation claimed to study an organization compared toCounter-Guerrilla. The accused were declared to be the "deep state in Turkey." TheErgenekon trials were a series of high-profile trials that began on October 20, 2008, in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists, and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Ergenekon, were accused of plotting against the Erdogan government. The trials resulted in lengthy prison sentences for most of the accused.
The US Secretary of State reported on the Turkish investigation into the Ergenekon network and concluded that "the details of the case were murky, however, and Ergenekon's status as a terrorist organization remained under debate at year's end."[116]
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At the beginning of the Obama administration, on May 30, 2009, aU.S. Democratic Party delegation group including U.S. SenatorsCasey,Kaufman,Lautenberg and U.S. CongressmanWalz met with Turkish officials in Ankara to confirm that "Turkey can always depend on the US, while the US can always rely on its close friendship with Turkey".[117] Obama gave impassioned and eloquent speeches in Turkey (Obama visit) and Cairo (A New Beginning).Middle Eastern foreign policy of the Obama administration was a strategic "rebalancing" away from extensive military commitments as a shift from the post-9/11 policies of George W. Bush. In this period, Turkey and President Obama faced the Middle Eastern dysfunctional state systems and fraying civil societies, as well as blowback from George W. Bush's invasions.
President Obama's speeches were seen as the advent of a new era. However,Foreign MinisterAhmet Davutoğlu said that2013 was the year that would shape relations between Turkey and the US over the coming decades. According to Davutoglu, Obama's responses to the breach of his red lines (Ghouta chemical attack) and acceptance of the coup inEgypt (2013 Egyptian coup d'état) worked for the narratives of extremists, encouraged atrocities, also signaled to our (NATO) adversaries that they can count on the US's inaction at places likeCrimea (Russian occupation of Crimea).[118]
At the end of the Obama administration, signs of strain emerged when Obama refused to hold a formal meeting with Erdoğan during the latter's visit to the United States in March 2016.[119]
The 2009U.S. Secretary of State'sCountry Report on Terrorism confirmed that cooperation against terrorism is a key element in America's strategic partnership with Turkey, before going on to praise Turkish contributions to stabilize Iraq and Afghanistan and highlighting the strategic importance of theİncirlik Air Base used by both U.S. and NATO forces for operations in the region.[116] Turkey had opposed the appointment ofAnders Fogh Rasmussen as NATO secretary general due to his approach to theMuhammed carricaturs in Denmark until Obama assured a Turk would be one of Rasmussen deputies.[120]
The U.S. Secretary of State's report also contained information on thePKK and other terrorist groups operating in Turkey, whom the U.S. and Turkish authorities share intelligence on, highlighting the September 12, 2006, attack onDiyarbakır and the July 27, 2008, attack on Güngören.[116] In 2016, Vice PresidentJoe Biden called the PKK a terrorist group "plain and simple" and compared it to theISIL.[121]
Turkish model refers to the idea of Turkey as a potential model for other Muslim-majority countries, particularly in the Middle East, combining a democratic government (Secularism in Turkey) with an Islamic identity (Conservatism in Turkey).Respectively represented byAtatürk's reforms and Erdogan'sJustice and Development Party (Turkey). Particularly early onObama administration, there was some discussion and hope that Turkey could serve as a positive example of a modern, democratic, and predominantly Muslim nation.[122]
Hugh Pope—The Wall Street Journal — wrote that “crowns the rediscovery of the strategic value of Turkey” after Prime MinisterBülent Ecevit's 2002 Washington visite which showcased Turkey's laicism as an effective way to combat Islamic radicalism.[122] In the Obama period, opposing side argued that the independence of the media (does Turkish media represent all groups?), judiciary (does Turkey have an independent judiciary?), and army (does Turkey have a professional army?). However, in spite of these questions, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's rejection of the Turkish model revealed the limits of secularism's regional influence.
TheArab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s resulting in theArab Winter.Amb.Jeffrey stated Turkey at a crossroads after theGezi Park Protests (2013), and asked what do the Gezi Park Protests mean for democracy in the region?[123] Failure of the Turkish model in the American point of view during Obama years, asCenter for American Progress summary points out, was Turkey's relationship with the American-ally Kurdish militia, YPG, (Turkey's nomenclature PKK subsidiary group), or "Lack thereof."[122]
Turkey was involved in the2011 military intervention in Libya following the leadership of the Obama administration,American involvement in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. However, Turkey opposed the Obama-Sarkozy position. Turkey stated, "[This is] French interests over the Libyan people!"[124] Another breakpoint with the Obama administration, Turkey cut ties with Gaddafi only after extending a hand to him and asking him to be exiled in Turkey in which he refused.[125]Killing of Muammar Gaddafi occurred on October 20, 2011, after the Battle of Sirte.
In May 2009, after parliamentary debates in Belgium and Germany called for the removal of the nuclear weapons stationed in their military bases, questions were subsequently raised over the reportedly continuing presence ofB61 nuclear bombs stationed at theIncirlik Air Base as part ofNATO'snuclear sharing program.Bilkent University Professor Mustafa Kibaroğlu speculated that if the Obama administration would have pressed for the withdrawal of these weapons, which Turkey wished to maintain, then Turkey-U.S. relations could have been strained.[126] In October 2009, President Obama sent a proposal (nuclear deal framework) to Erdoğan during the heated discussions in the U.S. on nuclear weapons in Turkey. However, before the completion of the framework, Turkish and Iranian diplomats were discussing a preliminary nuclear deal, which would be named the Tehran Declaration.[127] In April 2010, while Turkish and Iranian diplomats were working on a deal, Washington stepped up its efforts to impose a new round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program (Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010). Iran agreed to the "Tehran Declaration" after China and Russia were in accord with the prepared UN sanctions on Iran (declared as atactical move). In May 2010, non-permanent members of the Security Council Turkey and Brazil announced the "Tehran Declaration."[127] The Tehran Declaration was a fuel-swap deal. It stipulated that medical isotopes (a humanitarian need of Iran) could be produced by 20-percent-enriched nuclear fuel, which was to be provided to only one research reactor. The research reactor in question was the Tehran Research Reactor, which was supplied by the U.S. under the Atoms for Peace program. In exchange, Tehran would transfer 1,200 kilograms of low-enriched uranium to Turkey.[127] On May 17, 2010, Brazil, Iran and Turkey signed a tri-partite Joint Declaration asserting that a nuclear fuel exchange could lead to peace.[128] The U.S. discarded the agreement because "it did not address the continued production of uranium enriched to 20 percent inside Iranian territory."[129]
Turkey, India and China opposed the adoption of a new round of sanctions, claiming the "Tehran Declaration" could be improved, rather than discarded.[130] Opposition in the U.S. condemned the move, with claims that Turkey is not in the Western camp.[131] Turkey's objection to the U.S. sanctions resulted in the U.S. Congress delaying arms sales sought by the Turkish military.[132] On August 17, 2010, a separate report presented to Obama by theU.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which had previously urged him to raise the subject of religious freedom during his 2009 presidential visit to Turkey, concluded that Turkey's interpretation of secularism "resulted in violations of religious freedoms for many of the country's citizens, including members of the majority and, especially, minority religious communities".[133] Obama said that future arms sales would depend on Turkish policies.[134]
Following the discredited Tehran Declaration and sanctions on Turkey, the progress on the issue stopped until the change of government in Iran. Iranian PresidentHassan Rouhani signaled a change and opened the way for nuclear talks.[131] On April 2, 2015, theIran nuclear deal framework was signed five years after the Tehran Deal. Instead of the Turkey-Brazil initiative for the "Tehran Deal", the pact was signed betweenIran and theP5+1 countries.
We urge both sides to continue their constructive approach which aims to carry the process forward. Our hope is that both sides will carry out the mutually agreed steps on the agreement, therefore resolving this issue permanently in such a way that will satisfy all the sides involved through diplomacy.[131]
Why were Turkey and Brazil involved in the Iranian Nuclear issues? TheTurkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency managed thenuclear power in Turkey. In putting together the fuel-swap deal, Turkey was trying to defend the autonomy of non-nuclear weapons states (NNWS) to enrich uranium for producing electricity and strengthen the right of NNWS to develop peaceful nuclear activities.[135] The Obama administration sanctioned Turkey albeit for different reasons than Iran. In 2013, Russian nuclear construction companyAtomstroyexport and Turkey signed a construction agreement for the "Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant". Turkey did not fall into the Iranian situation. The whole operation is Russian built, owned, and operated (build–own–operate) such that even the spent fuel (high-level waste) returned to Russia.[136] Instead of the US partnering with Turkey, leaving Turkey to the Russia's help for the NNWS will affectRussia–Turkey relations by prolonging Turkey's dependence on Russian energy, beyondnatural gas. It was a critical disconnect among NATO allies.
Before November 2013 US-led nuclear sanctions passedHalkbank between March 2012 and July 2013 purchased gold on the open market. November 2013 sanctions prevented Iran from being paid in dollars, but gold was never mentioned in the sanctions regime. Halkbank exchanged gold for Iranian oil (oil trading controversy). October 18, 2015,Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action canceled the sanctions in question. In March 2017, the deputy headHalkbank, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, was arrested by the US government for conspiring to evade sanctions against Iran by helpingReza Zarrab, an Iranian-Azeri businessman who had taken Turkish citizenship, "use U.S. financial institutions to engage in prohibited financial transactions that illegally funneled millions of dollars to Iran".[137] Zarrab was inMiami, Florida, in March 2016.[138] Atilla's trial commenced in New York City federal court in November 2017, with Zarrab agreeing to testify after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.[139] In early 2018, Atilla was convicted on five of six counts against him, including bank fraud and conspiracies and acquitted on one count after four days of jury deliberation.
Turkey was particularly cautious about a Kurdish state arising from a destabilized Syria. Turkey has fought an insurgent war against the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization internationally by a number of states and organizations. Until 2011, Turkey's policy was trying to preserve a neutral but constructive position because civil war and sectarian conflicts would threaten Turkey's security.[140] Eventually war broke and Syria (refugees,spillover) impacted Turkey more directly than otheractors in the conflict.
Between 2011 and 2012, Turkey absorbed 120,000Syrian refugees, 90,000 of whom are in camps. In September 2012, Turkey asked from US to establish "safe zones" with Turkey in northern Syria to accommodate refugees and reduce the number of civilian casualties.[141] Gen.Philip Breedlove toUnited States Senate Committee on Armed Services said Syria wasweaponizing migration.[142] In 2015, U.S. senators called for humanitarian safe zones in Syria, Obama administration declined.[143] In 2016, during theEuropean migrant crisis, Merkel asked the same question. Obama said Syrian safe zones won't work.[144]
If we set up a no-fly zone orsafe zones on the ground, we were buying a costly, dangerous, lengthy, and uncertain military commitment on top of Afghanistan and Iraq that put significant numbers of U.S. forces in harm's way. Could we have protected civilians in safe zones? Yes, had we deployed thousands of U.S. troops to take and hold the ground and committed roughly 100 planes to provide air coverage.[145]
— Susan Rice (United States National Security Advisor), In Syria, America Had No Good Options,The Atlantic (October 7, 2019)
Beginning in 2012, Turkey and the United States supported the "Syrian opposition" which held the idea of replacing theAssad regime. In early 2012,Seymour Hersh reported that theCIA cooperated with Turkey in a covert operation named "the Rat Line", which obtained and transported armaments from Libya to rebel groups (later known as theFree Syrian Army (FSA)) in Syria via proxies andfront organizations in southern Turkey. The CIA's involvement reportedly ended after the mass evacuation of CIA operatives from the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after the2012 Benghazi attack.[146][147] In January 2014, theHouse Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence reported specifically on "the CIA annex at Benghazi", that "all CIA activities in Benghazi were legal and authorized. On-the-record testimony establishes that the CIA was not sending weapons ... from Libya to Syria, or facilitating other organizations or states that were transferring weapons from Libya to Syria."[148] While the Obama administrationinvestigated the Benghazi attack in January 2014, theNational Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey broke out. In May 2014, theeditor-in-chief of theCumhuriyetCan Dündar published pictures of agents and trucks, and was later sentenced for ″leaking secret information of the state″.[149]
In October 2014, Vice PresidentJoe Biden accused Turkey of fundingal-Nusra andal Qaeda (FSA-identified groups),[150] to which Erdoğan angrily responded, "Biden has to apologize for his statements" adding that if no apology is made, Biden would become "history to [him]". Biden subsequently apologized.[151] In 2015, theInternational Business Times wrote that the US sent weapons shipments to FSA-identified groups through a CIA program for years.[152]Timber Sycamore was a classified weapons supply and training program run by the CIA and supported by some Arab intelligence services, such as the security service inSaudi Arabia. It launched in 2012 or 2013 and supplied money, weaponry and training to rebel forces. According to US officials, the program has trained thousands of rebels.[153] In July 2017,H. R. McMaster, National Security Adviser to PresidentDonald Trump and CIA DirectorMike Pompeo, decided to terminate the program.[154]
Early on, Obama saw Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, as the sort of moderate Muslim leader who would bridge the divide between East and West—but Obama now considers him a failure and an authoritarian, one who refuses to use his enormous army to bring stability to Syria.[155]
— Jeffrey Goldberg, "The Obama Doctorine: The U.S. president talks through his hardest decisions about America's role in the world.",The Atlantic (April 2016)
On August 20, 2012, Obama used the "Red line" in relation tochemical weapons.[156] On the one-year anniversary of Obama's red line speech, theGhouta chemical attacks occurred.John McCain said the red line was "apparently written in disappearing ink", due to the perception the red line had been crossed with no action.[157] At the same time,United States Central Command (CENTCOMM) approached theYPG.
In other words, thisillegitimate regime (reference to President Obama's statement[158]) was the source of these challenges and threats for Turkey, yet the Obama administration was unwilling to recognize it as such and act upon it accordingly. On the contrary, at the end of the day, the Obama administration allowed Assad's brutality to continue while supporting "his ally" Turkey's foes, on the ground.[118]
— Ahmet Davutoğlu (Minister of Foreign Affairs), "From Obama to Trump: Lessons and challenges",Al Jazeera English (February 3, 2017)
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Turkey-US relations began showing signs of deterioration, particularly over the handling of the YPG.[159] Some groups held the idea of "Syrian Balkanization" ("division of the country") in which they promotedfederalizing Syria on ethnic and religious-sectarian lines,Constitution of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. The American forces in the Syrian Civil War openly allied with the Kurdish YPG fighters and supported them militarily. The YPG was criticized by Turkey for its alleged support to the PKK, especially since arebellion in southern Turkey began in 2015.[19] By early 2015, voices in the US foreign policy establishment pushed to abandon the rebels.[160] In early October 2015, shortly after the start of theRussian military intervention in Syria, Obama was reported to have authorized the resupply of 25,000 YPG militia.[161] Erdoğan stated that he had asked Obama not to intervene on the side of the YPG: "I told Mr. Obama, 'Don't drop those bombs [meaning weapons and other supplies]. You will be making a mistake.' Unfortunately, despite our conversation, they dropped whatever was needed with three C-130's and half of it landed in [IS'] hands. So who is supplying [ISIL], then?" Erdogan also opposed any arrangements in Syria that would mirror the Iraqi Kurds'de facto state in northern Syria. He told reporters on January 26, 2015: "What is this? Northern Iraq? Now [they want] Northern Syria to be born. It is impossible for us to accept this. ... Such entities will cause great problems in the future."[162]
According to GeneralRaymond A. Thomas (at the time head of theUnited States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)) at theAspen Security Forum in July 2017, the SDF (established October 10, 2015) is aPR-friendly name for the YPG, which Thomas personally suggested because the YPG is considered an arm of the PKK.[163] On February 1, 2016, Brett McGurk officially visited SDF commanderFerhat Abdi Şahin (also known as GeneralMazloum Kobani), after theSiege of Kobanî. In response, Erdoğan said: "How can we trust you? Is it me that is your partner or is it the terrorists in Kobani?"[164] After Kobani, General Allen and Brett McGurk worked on Tal Abyad. Turkey did not permit flying off of a Turkish airbase. McGurk said: "So the picture that developed while General Allen and I were spending most of these months in Ankara is that something was not on the level [the U.S. allied with Turkey's enemy]."[165] Turkey overtly defied American orders of ceasing Turkey's military bombardment of the YPG fighters in their bid to take the town ofAzaz in northern Syria.[166]
In summary, during the Obama years, Turkey developed its policy towards Syria in two stages. The first stage was by itself. The second stage was with the US, which was unsuccessful. However, during obama years, Turkey was unwilling to act unilaterally toward Syria.[167]
The Obama administration did not respond to the idea that theRojava conflict, which the Obama administration associated itself with, provided a launch pad for Turkish Kurdish separatists toward Turkey and might raise questions about Turkey's territorial integrity.[167]
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on May 31, 2010, in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea.Israel–Turkey relations reached a low point after the incident. Turkey recalled its ambassador, canceled joint military exercises, and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Erdoğan harshly referred to the raid as a "bloody massacre" and "state terrorism", and criticized Israel in a speech before theGrand National Assembly.[168] On March 22, 2013, Netanyahu apologized for the incident in a 30-minute telephone call with Erdoğan, stating that the results were unintended; the Turkish prime minister accepted the apology and agreed to enter into discussions to resolve the compensation issue.
It was Turkey that set the course for terminating the alliance with Israel.
During his Ankara visit, Obama urged Turkey to come to terms with its past and resolve its Armenian issues. During the2008 US presidential election, he had criticized former US President George W. Bush for his failure to take a stance and stated that the "Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence".[169] He responded positively to an announcement from sources in Ankara andYerevan that a deal to reopen the border between the two states and exchange diplomatic personnel would happen, and indicated that although his own personal views on the subject remained unchanged, to avoid derailing this diplomatic progress, he would refrain from using the word "genocide" in his upcoming April 24 speech on the question.[170]
On April 22, 2009, shortly after Obama's visit, Turkish and Armenian authorities formally announced aprovisional roadmap for the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two states.[171] The U.S. responded positively with a statement from the office ofU.S. Vice PresidentJoe Biden following a phone conversation withArmenian PresidentSerzh Sargsyan, which stated that "the Vice President applauded President Sargsyan's leadership, and underscored the administration's support for both Armenia and Turkey in this process".[172] Turkish columnists, however, criticized the timing of the announcement, and believed it to have been made to placate Obama in advance of his April 24 speech, with Fikret Bila writing in theMilliyet that "the Turkish Foreign Ministry made this statement regarding the roadmap before midnight", as it would allow Obama to go back on his campaign promise to refer to the incident as genocide, which the Turkish government profusely denied, by pointing out to the Armenian diaspora that "Turkey reached a consensus with Armenia and set a roadmap" and "there is no need now to damage this process".[173][174]
TheAKP–Gülen movement conflict is a major Turkey–United States relations. In the evening of July 15, 2016, a fraction attempted acoup d'état,2016 Turkish coup attempt, in Turkey.
In a speech on July 29, 2016, President Erdoğan accused CENTCOM chiefJoseph Votel of "siding with coup plotters" after Votel accused the Turkish government of arresting the Pentagon's contacts in Turkey.[178][177] In late July 2016, Turkish prime ministerBinali Yıldırım toldThe Guardian: "Of course, since the leader of this terrorist organisation is residing in the United States, there are question marks in the minds of the people whether there is any U.S. involvement or backing.[179]
Turkey'sAnadolu Agency report chief prosecutor's office launched an investigation into 17 U.S.-based individuals, including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and ex-CIA director John Brennan, for their alleged links to cleric Fethullah Gulen.[180]Yeni Şafak, a Turkish pro-government newspaper, claimed that the former commander ofNATO forces in Afghanistan, now-retired U.S. Army GeneralJohn F. Campbell, was the "mastermind" behind the coup attempt in Turkey.[181]
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Due to perceptions that former US Secretary of State and Democratic Party presidential nomineeHillary Clinton is friendly towards theGülen movement, many Erdoğan supporters reportedly favored Republican Party presidential nomineeDonald Trump in the United States' 2016 presidential election.[182]
The Turkish government had a generally warm relationship with the Trump administration,[183] backing the Trump administration's stance againstAntifa groups during theGeorge Floyd protests,[184] and condemning restrictions placed on Trump's social media accounts as "digital fascism".[185]
Theassassination of Jamal Khashoggi, aSaudidissident, journalist forThe Washington Post, and former general manager and editor-in-chief ofAl-Arab News Channel, occurred on October 2, 2018, at the Saudiconsulate inIstanbul, Turkey, and was perpetrated by agents of the Saudi Arabian government.[186] Government officials of Turkey believe Khashoggi was murdered with premeditation. Anonymous Saudi officials have admitted that agents affiliated with the Saudi government killed him.[187]
CIA DirectorGina Haspel traveled to Turkey to address the investigation. Haspel's visit came before a planned speech by Erdoğan. She listened to audio purportedly capturing the sound of saw on a bone.[citation needed] On November 20, US PresidentDonald Trump rejected the CIA's conclusion that Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing. He issued a statement saying "it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn't" and that "in any case, [their] relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia".[188]
On June 5, 2017, Turkey (Qatar–Turkey relations) supported Qatar in itsdiplomatic confrontation with aSaudi andEmirati-led bloc of countries that severed ties with and imposed sanctions on Qatar. US (Qatar–United States relations) was on the Saudi side which argued on the basis ofQatar and state-sponsored terrorism. Turkey criticized the list of demands released by the Saudi and Emirati-led bloc on June 22, stating that they undermine Qatar's sovereignty. In December 2017, for defense of US position, US national security advisor General H.R. McMaster said that Turkey had joined Qatar as a prime source of funding that contributes to the spread of extremist ideology ofIslamism: "We're seeing great involvement by Turkey from everywhere from western Africa to Southeast Asia, funding groups that help create the conditions that allow terrorism to flourish."[189]
A lot of Islamist groups have learned from Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party. It is a "model of really operating through civil society, then the education sector, then the police and judiciary, and then the military to consolidate power in the hands of a particular party (institution that is state-like in its organization,parallel state), which is something we'd prefer not to see and is sadly contributing to the drift of Turkey away from the West."[189]
— National Security Adviser, GeneralH.R. McMaster, US Official Accuses Turkey of Pushing Extreme Islamist Ideology, Voice of America
We expect the United States, which we continue to recognize as our friend and ally, to display the same stance to our country, to cease all forms of cooperation with terrorist groups such as YPG and provide more concrete and effective support in our ongoing determined fight against terrorism and radicalism.
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs, secretary to Turkish Foreign Minister., US Official Accuses Turkey of Pushing Extreme Islamist Ideology, Voice of America
On June 26, 2024, H.R. McMaster andAhmet Üzümcü (Turkish diplomat, former permanent representative to NATO) rehash the same issues at "Turkey: A Strained & Critical Alliance"[190] discussion for the Turkey's work in advancing peace and prosperity relation to fight against ISIS.[191]
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Theclashes at the Turkish Ambassador's Residence in Washington, D.C. broke out on May 16, 2017, between Turkey'sPolice Counter Attack Team and a crowd of protesters, some of whom carried flags of theDemocratic Union Party (Syria) (a left-wing Syrian branch of theKurdistan Workers Party).[192] On May 16, 2017John McCain andClaire McCaskill called for the expulsion (unwanted person) of the Turkish ambassadorSerdar Kılıç for the embassy brawl.[27]
TheTurkey migrant crisis in the 2010s was characterized by high numbers ofpeople arriving in Turkey. As reported by UNHCR in 2018, Turkey is hosting 63.4% of all the refugees (from Middle East, Africa, and Afghanistan) in the world. As of 2019,refugees of the Syrian Civil War in Turkey (3.6 million) numbered highest as "registered" refugees (2011–2018: 30 billion on refugee assistance). As the war made the return of refugees to Syria uncertain, Turkey focused on how to manage their presence in Turkish society by addressing their legal status, basic needs, employment, education, and impact on local communities.[193] TheTrump travel ban actions include twoexecutive orders for restrictions on citizens of seven (first executive order) or six (second executive order)Muslim-majority countries.[194] A third action, done bypresidential proclamation, restricts entry to the U.S. by citizens from eight countries, six of which are predominantly Muslim. During and after his election campaign Trump proposed establishing safe zones in Syria as an alternative to Syrian refugees' immigration to the US. In the past, "safe zones" have been interpreted as establishing, among other things, no-fly zones over Syria. During the Obama administration Turkey encouraged the U.S. to establish safe zones; the Obama administration was concerned about the potential for pulling the U.S. into a war with Russia.[195] In the first few weeks of Trump's presidency, Turkey renewed its call for safe zones and proposed a new plan for them. The Trump administration spoke with several other Sunni Arab States regarding safe zones, and Russia has asked for clarification regarding any Trump administration plan regarding safe zones.
In December 2018, Trump announced "We have won against ISIS", and ordered the withdrawal of all troops from Syria.[196] The next day, Mattis resigned in protest, calling his decision an abandonment of the U.S.'sYPG allies. In November 2018, Trump said he would not approve any extension of the American deployment in Syria.[197] House of Representatives condemned Trump's decision.[198]
On October 23, 2019, President Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Syrian-Turkish border to southeastern Syria for enabling Turkey to set upa new "Buffer Zone".[199]
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According to two anonymous American officials, the Central Intelligence Agency obtained original intelligence on Baghdadi[clarification needed] following the arrests of one of his wives and a courier.[205] The arrest of al-Baghdadi's top aide Ismael al-Ethawi was the key: al-Ethawi was found and followed by informants in Syria, apprehended by Turkish authorities, and handed over to the Iraqi intelligence to whom he provided information in February 2018. In 2019, US, Turkish, and Iraqi intelligence conducted a joint operation in which they captured several senior ISIL leaders who provided the locations where they met with Baghdadi inside Syria.[206] According toVoice of America, the fate of al-Baghdadi "was sealed by the capture of his aide".[207] Turkish and US military authorities exchanged and coordinated information ahead of the attack in Barisha, Harem District, Idlib Governorate, Syria.[208] President Trump thanked Russia, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq for aiding US operation, and praised Erdoğan, claiming that he is "a big fan", a "friend of [his]" and "a hell of a leader."[209]
In July 2016, after thefailed coup attempt, Turkey demanded that the United States government extraditeFethullah Gülen, a cleric and Turkish national living in the U.S. state ofPennsylvania. However, the US government demanded that Turkey had to produce evidence of Gulen's connection with the coup attempt. On July 19, an official request was sent to the US for the extradition of Fethullah Gülen.[213] Senior U.S. officials said this evidence pertained to certain pre-coup alleged subversive activities.[214]
On November 8, 2016,The Hill published an op-ed by Flynn stating that US ally Turkey was in crisis and needed US support on the day of the2016 United States presidential election. Flynn called for the US to back Erdoğan's government and alleged that the regime's opponentFethullah Gülen, who is a Pennsylvania-based opposition cleric and the leader of thegulen movement whose members werepurged in Turkey because of the2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, headed a "vast global network" that fit "the description of a dangeroussleeper terror network".[215] Flynn, who was specialized in US counterterrorism strategy and dismantling insurgent networks, argued Gulen falls into radical Islamist groups aligned with Seyed Qutb and Hasan al Bana and he finished his article stating "running a scam". On March 8, 2017, four months after the publication, General Flynn filed documents with the Federal government indicating consulting work that might have aided the government of Turkey. TheCrossfire Hurricane (FBI investigation) ("Crossfire Razor"[216] – a counterintelligence investigation on Flynn) was taken over by theMueller special counsel investigation (May 17, 2017). Flynn was part of Mueller's special counsel investigation.
In 2017, the special counsel,Robert Mueller, began probing whether Michael Flynn was part of an alleged plot to kidnap the cleric for Turkey.[217]Michael Flynn's consulting company was hired by Inovo BV, a company owned by Kamil Ekim Alptekin. Alptekin also chairs the Turkish-American Business Council, an arm of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK).[220] Trump transition aideBijan Kian played key role in Flynn's connection to the case.[221] Federal investigators probing the lobbying work of national security adviser Michael Flynn are focused in part on the role of Bijan Kian.[222] In 2017, FBI investigated whether Fethullah Gulen skimmed money fromcharter schools in the US.[223]Gülen movement schools is a network of more than 150 U.S. charter schools (as of 2017). Gulen-linked educational institutions (schools in varying categories, and classifications) are sizable with 300 in Turkey and over 1,000 worldwide.[224]
Serkan Golge, a naturalized US citizen, was jailed in Turkey for three years on charges of participating in terrorism and conspiring against the government as a member of the Gülen movement. Metin Topuz, a US consulate employee, was charged with having links to Gülen and was arrested under "terror charges" by an Istanbul court.[citation needed] Topuz was the second US government employee in Turkey to be arrested in 2017. PastorAndrew Brunson was charged with terrorism and espionage during thepurges that followed the2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt.[226] The U.S-based Christian groupVoice of the Persecuted took up the Brunsons’ cause, as had opposition Parliament members in Turkey and other Protestant pastors in the largely Muslim nation.[227] Brunson's fate was determined at theDirectorate General of Migration Management which gave the instruction for detention and deportation of Brunson."[227]Selina Dogan, a member from theRepublican People's Party, attempted to free Brunson.[227] The Turkish government said the post-coup crackdown was not just on Gulen movement but also (subversive activities) links to Kurdish militants and terror coming from Islamic State.[227]
The United States suspended all non-immigrant visas from Turkey "indefinitely" due to Topuz's arrest. Turkey retaliated against the US with suspensions of all US visas, including tourist visas, shortly after the US State Department made their announcement.[228] On August 1, 2018, the US Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on Justice ministerAbdulhamit Gül and interior ministerSuleyman Soylu, who were involved in the detention of Brunson.Daniel Glaser, the former Treasury official under Obama, said: "It's certainly the first time I can think of" the U.S. sanctioning aNATO ally.[229] On August 10, 2018, Trump imposed punitive tariffs against Turkey after an impasse over Brunson's imprisonment and other issues.[230] On August 10, 2018, Trump tweeted that he would double tariffs (first Trump tariffs) on Turkish steel and aluminum using the "Section 232" which was imposed on countries whose exports threaten to impair national security. Markets responded and the lira plunged. Depending on the calculation nearly 40% year to date or 20% just after the tweet.[231]Michael Klein said "It's not like the United States caused this, but there's probably some element of the trade spat [signaling to] investors and Turkish residents that things were not going to get better."[232] With both internal structural weaknesses and US sanctions Turkey's economy fall intoTurkish economic crisis (2018–current). Later in December 2022, the WTO ruled against the United States saying that there was no national security emergency that justified US invocation of the exception[233] The move prompted Erdoğan to say that the United States was "[ex]changing a strategic NATO partner for a pastor" and that the US' behavior would force Turkey to look for new friends and allies.[234]
The presidential spokesperson,İbrahim Kalın, tweeted that the US is losing Turkey, and that the entire Turkish public is against U.S. policies.[234] In addition, theUşak Province decided to stop running digital advertisement on United States-based social media platforms likeFacebook,Google,Instagram,Twitter, andYouTube, canceling all of their ads as a response to US sanctions on Turkey.[235] Turkey went on to say that it would retaliate against the raising of steel and aluminium tariffs by the U.S. administration[236] (The US had already imposed 10 percent and 25 percent additional tariffs on aluminum and steel imports respectively from all countries on March 23, 2018, but on August 13, 2018, it added additional tariffs on steel imports from Turkey).[237] Erdoğan said that Turkey will boycott electronic products from the US, usingiPhones as an example.[238] TheKeçiören Municipality in theAnkara decided not to issue business licenses to American brands includingMcDonald's,Starbucks andBurger King.[239] In addition, Turkey decided to increase tariffs on imports of a range of US products,[240]
The Turkish people expected the United States to unequivocally condemn the attack and express solidarity with Turkey's elected leadership. It did not. The United States' reaction was far from satisfactory. Instead of siding with Turkish democracy, United States officials cautiously called for "stability and peace and continuity within Turkey." To make matters worse, there has been no progress regarding Turkey's request for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen under a bilateral treaty.[241]
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Erdogan: How Turkey Sees the Crisis With the U.S. (Aug. 10, 2018), The New York Times
On August 20, 2018, there were gunshots at the USA Embassy in Ankara. No casualties were reported and Turkish authorities detained two men as suspects.[242]
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In 2018, theCFR recommended "US needs to develop alternatives toIncirlik Air Base. The use of the base to advance U.S. interests is no longer assured."[40] US and Greece signed "Revised Defense Cooperation Agreement". The agreement was described as critical to responding to new security challenges in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Pompeo said "We have told the Turks that illegal drilling is unacceptable, and we'll continue to take diplomatic action to make sure that we do as we do always: ensure that the lawful activity takes place in every space where international law governs. ... We're working to get ... everyone to de-escalate and find a set of outcomes that are mutually agreeable,"[243] TheAegean dispute is a set of interrelated controversies over sovereignty and related rights in the region of the Aegean Sea. The United States ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt stated that all the islands have the same rights to EEZ and continental shelf as the mainlands do which is disputed.
In 2021, a new agreement the "Greek-American Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement" permitted the US military to use Georgula Barracks in Greece's central province of Volos, Litochoro Training Ground, and army barracks in the northeastern port city of Alexandroupoli apart from the naval base inSouda Bay in Crete which the US has been operating since 1969.[41] In short couple years, Turkey saw shifting NATO powers to its western neighbor.Anadolu Agency reported growing US military presence in Greece can lead to undesired scenarios in the Aegean ‘Deploying more US troops to Greece would disrupt NATO's powers,’[42]
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On the same time, relations between Turkey and the United States also worsened after the Turkish government hosted twoHamas leaders, in a move that was believed to be in response to theAbraham Accords, in which Israel normalized relations with theUnited Arab Emirates andBahrain; the Abraham Accord was opposed by Ankara.[245]
In 2019, theUnited States Congress, with sponsors from Saudi Arabia, issued official recognition of theArmenian genocide, which was the first time the United States has officially acknowledged the genocide, having previously only unofficially or partially recognized the genocide.[246][247] Turkey, which has traditionally denied that such genocide existed, blasted the United States for inflaming tensions. Donald Trump has rejected the resolution by Congress, citing that his administration's stance on the issue had not changed.[248]
Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the influence of third party actors like Turkey "troubling" at the2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.[249] In a letter to Secretary of State Pompeo, Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking memberBob Menendez, Senate Minority LeaderChuck Schumer, and several other lawmakers called for the Trump administration to "immediately suspend all sales and transfers of military equipment to Ankara."[250] As for the result, relations between the United States to Turkey and Azerbaijan further worsened, with Turkey accused the United States of sending weapons and supplies to Armenia, which Washington denied.[251]
On October 15, 2020, Secretary of StateMike Pompeo urged both sides to respect the humanitarian ceasefire and stated, "We now have the Turks, who have stepped in and provided resources to Azerbaijan, increasing the risk, increasing the firepower that's taking place in this historic fight."[252]
The US had leverage with Turkey as Turkey's military security was largely dependent on its Western ally.[254] Turkey depended on the US for control of its airspace. Turkey has long pursued air control radars and missile defense systems.
USPatriots that were allocated to the defense of Turkey were removed on August 16, 2015[253] Turkey's lack of air defense system became an issue when2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown by a patrollingTurkish Air ForceF-16 on November 24, 2015. Turkey stated it has the right to defend itsairspace.[255] Russia claimed U.S. knew the flight path of the Sukhoi Su-24 and it was an issue between two NATO partners, two U.S. officials claimed there was no such information.[256]
Turkey got serious about acquiring a missile defense system early in the first Obama administration. Turkey put up a bid, which includedMIM-104 Patriot. Chinese air defense was the winning system in 2013.[257] In 2015, Turkey reversed its position to acquireChina's FD-2000 long-range air defense missile system. The Chinese reportedly refused Ankara's technology transfer demands. In 2013, US did not part with valuable MIM-104 Patriot intellectual property. When Erdogan confronted (2017) "They give tanks, cannons and armored vehicles to the terror organization but we can't procure some of our needs, although we want to pay the price."[258] Turkey, a NATO member since 1952, reportedly saw that Russian technology transfer available. Turkey transferred the money forS-400 missile system on September 12, 2017.[259] Bloomberg reported "permission" of the sale of Patriot systems to Turkey as a breakthrough on December 18, 2018.[260] Turkey received its first installment of the Russian S-400 missile defense system on July 12, 2019, just short of six months of the US breakthrough.[261] The patriots were offered to replace Russian ordinance was US$3.5 billion while Turkey paid US$2.5 billion for S-400m. In February 2019, Russia had an advance supply contract withSaudi Arabia for the S-400,[262]Qatar was in "advanced" talks with Russia for the S-400,[262] andIndia agreed to pay more than $5 billion for five S-400 squadrons to be delivered in 2023.[262]
On July 31, 2019, the United States decided to end theF-35 deal. ActingDefense SecretaryPatrick M. Shanahan had warned Turkey that such a deal with Russia risks undermining its ties toNATO.[263] The US threatened Turkey withCAATSA sanctions over Turkey's decision to buy the S-400 missile defense system from Russia.[264][265]
On July 22, 2019, Turkey claimed to retaliate against the "unacceptable" threat of US sanctions over Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defenses.[266]
On February 5, 2020, the US halted a secretive military intelligence cooperation program with Turkey against theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).[30] On December 8, 2020, the House of Representatives approved a sanctions package against Turkey due to its purchase ofS-400 missile system from Russia. Trump administration said that the president will veto the bill. Trump had earlier worked to delay passing sanctions against Turkey, but he lost the 2020 United States presidential election.[267] On December 14, 2020, the US imposedCountering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. The sanctions included a ban on all U.S. export licenses and authorizations to SSB and an asset freeze and visa restrictions on Dr. Ismail Demir, SSB's president, and other SSB officers.[268]
Subsequently, doubts were raised by a number of international policy analysts that military sanctions on theNATO ally would weaken the alliance, effectively reducing Turkey's ability to obtain American technology for regional defense. For this reason, the incomingBiden administration would likely hold off on sanctions to normalize relations.[269][270][271]
In August 2020, Democratic presidential nomineeJoe Biden called for a new U.S. approach to the "autocrat" President Erdoğan and support for Turkish opposition parties.[272]
So I'm very concerned about it. I'm very concerned about it. But I'm still of the view that if we were to engage more directly like I was doing with them, that we can support those elements of the Turkish leadership that still exist and get more from them and embolden them to be able to take on and defeat Erdogan. Not by a coup, not by a coup, but by the electoral process.
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On May 22, 2022, after the US embassy issued a warning that police might respond violently to an opposition gathering in Istanbul, Turkey's foreign relations ministry summoned Ambassador Jeff Flake.[275]
In October 2021, in the wake of the appeal for the release of Turkish activistOsman Kavala signed by 10 Western countries, Turkish presidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered his foreign minister to declare the US ambassadorpersona non grata, alongside the other 9 ambassadors.[276] However, the ambassadors did not receive any formal notice to leave the country and Erdoğan eventually stepped back.[277]
InRusso-Ukrainian War US supported Ukraine and sanctioned Russia; however, the conflict brought challenges to Turkey in balancing its relations with both Ukraine and Russia, with implications for US-Turkey ties.
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Turkey in addition to denouncing Russia's invasion, and closing the Straits to belligerent warships (including US warships) supplied Ukraine with various types of military equipment—including armed drone aircraft and mine-resistant ambush-resistant (MRAP) vehicles—as well as humanitarian assistance.[280] Turkey-Ukraine close ties was a response to mutual interests in countering Russian influence (they are also part ofOrganization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation) in theBlack Sea region and in sharing military technology to expand and increase the self-sufficiency of their respective defense industries.[280] "Bayraktar" is the Ukrainian patriotic military propaganda song which parodies both the Russian Armed Forces and the invasion itself.
Turkey's basis for continued engagement with Russia, and desire to help mediate the conflict was based on minimizing spillover effects on Turkey's national security and economy.[280] On March 5, 2022, the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated after discussions with NATO partners' deputy foreign ministers that Turkey and the US will continue to work in "tight coordination" to find a diplomatic solution to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[281] On the other hand, Turkey rejected the US economic sanctions against Russia and did not close its airspace to Russian civilian flights.[282] In April 2022, Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of signing a peace agreement in Istanbul, with the Turkish Government acting as mediator. March 2022 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson forced Ukraine not to sign the peace deal in Istanbul. October 2022 Erdoğan: Putin "is now more open to possible peace talks" and Ukraine "was not rejecting such peace talks"[283]
President Biden expressed consent for Turkey and the United Nations to develop parallel agreements with Russia and Ukraine to provide a Black Sea corridor for Ukrainian grain exports in solving the global supply concerns. TheBlack Sea Grain Initiative was achieved by Turkey as it regulates access to theTurkish Straits through theMontreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, so by the virtue of its strategic position has the power to mediate between the parties on various issues of contention.[282]
Devlet Bahçeli claimed US bases pose "a threat to our security." "America is using the Greek side as a pawn ... The subject of 12 islands is our wound that has not yet healed. They have been unjustly usurped from Turkey by foot tricks", Bahçeli reiterated.[284] Erdoğan suspended dialogue with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis after Mitsotakis appeared to raise concern about the possible sale of 40 new F-16Vs to Turkey, while addressing a May 2022 joint session of the U.S. Congress.[282]
TheCyprus–Turkey maritime zones dispute is a major contention in the region. For the U.S., Israel, the Republic of Cyprus and Greece, the claimedEEZ of Greece, which extends to the East Mediterranean thanks to the small island ofKastellorizo nearAnatolia, is promoted as ensuring stability, economic development, and regional integration, especially regarding Israel's interests and concerns.[285] The multilateral “3+1” initiative consisting of Israel, Cyprus and Greece, and supported by the United States, aims to diversify Europe's energy supplies through theLeviathan gas field off the coast of Israel in the East Mediterranean. However, it ruled out Turkey's position regarding its own EEZ in the region, which conflicts with the claim by Greece.[285] In Turkey's view, the Greek islands close to Anatolia do not provide acontiguous maritime border between Greece and Turkey, especially in the area betweenRhodes andKastellorizo, which are78 miles apart, when the maximum internationally recognized limit for a contiguous maritime border claim is 12 miles (the 1923Treaty of Lausanne was signed in a period when nationalterritorial waters were limited to 3 miles). Turkey responded to its exclusion from the "3+1" initiative by signing theLibya (GNA)–Turkey maritime deal.
On October 7, 2023,Turkish support for Hamas changed position following theOctober 7 attacks. The Turkish government asked the members of Hamas to leave the country, after pictures and videos of the terrorist attacks began to be published and broadcast by the international media.[286] Hamas leaderIsmail Haniyeh and other top officials were “politely sent away.”[287] On October 9, 2023, Blinken posted on X: "I encouraged Türkiye's advocacy for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages held by Hamas immediately."[288] After protests from Israel, Blinken decided to delete his tweet which called for a cease-fire in the 2023Gaza war.[289] On October 25, 2023, Turkey changed position once again following reports of the "humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip", and in Erdoğan's words, Hamas was now "protecting its land and people".[290]
In 2024, Erdoğan and the AKP government in Turkey promoted the position that Hamas needs to be part of the political process.[291] On November 18, 2024, the United States warned Turkey against harboring Hamas leaders.[292]
After theprevious rupture in 2010, multiple U.S. administrations worked to put the pieces of the relationship back on track between two key allies. A hot conflict between these two U.S. allies would almost certainly take the Israel-Turkey relationship across the rubicon of reparability, which in turn could trigger unresolvable problems for U.S.-Turkey relations. Erdoğan and Netanyahu met for the first time in person at the United Nations headquarters inNew York City on September 20, 2023. They were slowly improving ties strained by disputes over Israel's policies toward the Palestinians.[293] Following the handshake of the leaders, Israel's media reported an upcoming visit by Erdoğan to Israel, with a pilgrimage to theAl-Aqsa Mosque.[293] The promise of cooperation on energy was the main topic. Israeli gas would be supplied to Europe through Turkey.[293] If achieved, the pipeline would also enable Israel to become a transit route for additional supplies of natural gas to Europe from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.[293]
Turkey blocked cooperation between NATO and Israel by opposing to the Western [U.S.] position, stating that the alliance should not support Israel'sGaza war, which would be a violation of NATO's founding principles.[294] Turkey stated that the cooperation between NATO and Israel could continue only after an end to the conflict.[294]
On September 6, 2024, Turkish-American human rights activistAyşenur Ezgi Eygi was shot in the head by anIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) sniper during a protest against illegalIsraeli settlements inBeita,Nablus, in theWest Bank. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the killing by Israel as "barbaric".[295] Relations between Turkey and Israel, a major ally of the United States, continued to deteriorate.[296]
APew Research poll in 2024 showed that 85% of Turks were dissatisfied with the way the U.S. president, Joe Biden, handled theIsrael's war in Gaza.[297]
Presidential candidate and former Vice PresidentJoe Biden demanded that Turkey "stay out" of theNagorno-Karabakh conflict betweenArmenia andAzerbaijan, in which Turkey has supported the Azerbaijanis.[298]
On December 15, 2021, U.S. Secretary of StateAntony Blinken announced that the U.S. supports the normalization process between Armenia and Turkey.[299]
On October 27, 2020, theU.S. Senate designated thepersecution of Uyghurs in China'sXinjiangautonomous region as genocide.[300] On January 19, 2021, incoming U.S. president Joe Biden'ssecretary of state nomineeAntony Blinken was asked, and he contended, "That would be my judgment as well."[301]
On April 24, 2021,Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, PresidentJoe Biden referred to the massacre of the Armenians during the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as "genocide" in a statement released by the White House.[302] Turkey has long practiced a policy of denial against the Armenian Genocide, and Biden's move was refuted by President Erdogan as "groundless" and opening a "deep wound" in U.S.-Turkey relations.[303]
On February 9, 2024,Turkish Foreign MinisterHakan Fidan said that the international community's silence onIsrael's actions inGaza were "complicity ingenocide".[304]
| Issue | USA | Turkey |
|---|---|---|
| Armenia | ✅ (April 24, 2021) | |
| Gaza | ✅ (February 9, 2024) | |
| Uygurs | ✅ (January 19, 2021) |
President Joe Biden and his allies announced a plan to build a rail and shipping corridor.[305] TheIndia-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor is a planned economic corridor that aims to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity between Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. TheIraq Development Road is an undergoing project aiming to connect Asia with Europe.[306] In September 2023, IMEEC criticised by Turkey as the existing but underdeveleoped Iraq-Turkey connection already present viable-established but underutilized corridor which could reach its potential with theIraq Development Road. The project was envisaged to bolster the current connection through the Persian Gulf with Europe through a railway and highway via ports in theUnited Arab Emirates,Qatar, andIraq, including the under-constructionGrand Faw Port.[307]
| Biden economic corridor | Iraq Development Road | |
|---|---|---|
| Time table | September 2023 (Momerandum) | April 2024 (Momerandum) |
| States involved | Asia → United Arab Emirates → Saudi Arabia → Israel → Greece → Europe | Asia → Iraq → Turkey → Europe |
TheZangezur corridor became a flash point since the end of theSecond Nagorno-Karabakh War. Azerbaijan and Turkey have been promoting this trade route to connect Azerbaijan toNakhchivan throughArmenia'sSyunik Province. Armenia steadily objected to this connection. The contention between Azerbaijan and Armenia extent to the terminology, the potential routes, and the modes of transport. After Armenian forces blocked the Zangezur corridor in 2023,American Enterprise Institute scholarMichael Rubin called Biden to act,[44] and to start talks with Armenia to establish a military base in the Zangezur corridor.[45] On September 11, 2023, a small contingent of U.S. special forces trained with Armenian soldiers during the "Eagle Partner" exercise in Armenia.[46]
Theenlargement of NATO continued with two new members during President Biden's term,Finland and Sweden. Turkey initially insisted on keeping its veto power on their membership, citing concerns over "combating terrorism" to be extended specifically to include "thePKK,PYD,YPG, andFETÖ" in the tripartite memorandum between Finland, Sweden, and Turkey during the NATO summit in Madrid in June 2022. For well over a year Turkey used this power to seek concessions from the Western block, which did not recognize the PYD, YPG or FETÖ as "terrorist entities" (but recognizes the PKK as such).Finland-Turkey negotiations ended with these issues resolved. Turkey also saw Sweden's difficult domestic membership application issues (e.g.,2023 Quran burnings in Sweden) as a moment of leverage not just for terrorism, but also for obtaining 40 new F-16Vs from the United States, as itblocked the negotiations between the parties.[308] On May 18, 2022, the U.S. brought the issue of listing the PYD and YPG (defined as "allies" by the United States in the war against ISIS, but viewed by Turkey as affiliates of the outlawed PKK) and the Gülen movement as "terrorist organizations" to the table for clarification.[309] Regarding the aforementioned US-Turkey discussions, President Erdoğan stated that "neither country has an open, clear stance against [the mentioned] terrorist organizations. We cannot say 'yes' to those who impose sanctions on Turkey [during our fight against our enemy], on joining NATO, which is [essentially] a security organization."[309] On June 29, 2022, U.S. PresidentJoe Biden thanked Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan for paving the way for Finland and Sweden's membership at theNATO summit inMadrid.[310]
According to Russian media reports (never officially confirmed by Ankara) Turkey requestedBRICS membership. If admitted, Turkey would become a part of the first significant counterweight (navigating to multipolarity) to the U.S.-led global order.[311]
During the first Trump administration, on October 2, 2020, House majority-minority leaders and Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking memberBob Menendez, along with other senators, suspended all sales and transfers of advanced military equipment to Ankara.[250] The U.S. Congress used its power to block sales and began slowrolling for the proposed sale of 40 new F-16Vs and 79 upgrade kits to Turkey, as well as the sale ofLHTEC T800 engines forTAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK attack helicopters produced by Turkey, which could not be exported to any third country without obtaining an export license for these engines from the Congress.[313] As a result, Turkey faced issues inexporting the helicopters to Pakistan. The hold-up had also involved Ankara's overflight disputes with Athens over the Aegean Sea. This dispute was resolved with the approval for the sale of F-35A fighter jets to Greece. In December, when the final version of the FY2023 NDAA (P.L.117-263) was passed, it excluded a House-passed condition on F-16 sales to Turkey related to potential overflights above Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. Regarding the slowrolling of the issue by the Congress, in January 2024, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, DemocratBen Cardin, stated that the approval for the sale of 40 new F-16V fighter jets and 79 upgrade kits to Turkey was contingent on Turkey's approval forSweden'saccession to NATO.[314] A letter to the Congress at the same time stated that if unable to upgrade its F-16 fleet, Turkey might consider purchasingEurofighter Typhoon aircraft. However, Erdoğan seized the moment to give his presidential approval for Sweden's NATO membership on January 25, 2024.
SenatorBob Menendez, who had earlier expressed his opposition to the sale of F-16Vs to Turkey, stated that he still maintained this view despite the Sweden-Turkey deal over the former's NATO membership, brokered by President Biden.[315] On March 21, 2024, Bob Menendez announced that due to federal corruption charges (including bribery, extortion, honest services fraud, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy) he would not run in the Democratic primary. He later resigned from the Senate, and was subsequently sentenced to 11 years in prison following his conviction on bribery and corruption charges on January 29, 2025.[316]
On June 6, 2024, the Turkish government signed a letter of acceptance (LOA) for the acquisition of 40 new F-16V aircraft.[312] On November 26, 2024, the Turkish government announced that it intends to move forward with the acquisition of 40 new F-16V aircraft, but has decided to cancel the purchase of upgrade kits to bring 79 of its existing F-16 Block 40 and Block 50 aircraft to the Block 70 "Viper" standard,[317] opting instead to upgrade all of its Block 30, Block 40 and Block 50 aircraft with the domestically produced kits that were developed under the F-16 "Özgür" and "Özgür-2" upgrade programs.[317][318]
On November 27, 2024, the Turkish government announced that the Turkish Air Force also intends to order 40 new F-35A aircraft, if a deal can be reached with the United States regarding the crisis caused by Turkey's purchase of the S-400 air defense system from Russia.[319] The United States has so far presented two solutions to Turkey: On March 19, 2022, the U.S. proposed Turkey to deliver its Russian-made S-400 missile defence systems to Ukraine, in order to assist it in fighting the invading Russian forces.[320] Two years later, during a visit to Turkey on July 1–2, 2024,Celeste Wallander, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, andMichael R. Carpenter, special advisor to the President and Senior Director for Europe at theU.S. National Security Council, proposed stationing the S-400 missile systems at the U.S.-controlled sector ofIncirlik Air Base, in exchange for reinstating Turkey in the F-35 fighter jet program.[321] Both of these proposals have so far been rejected by the Turkish government.[322][323]
At the first phone call between the two leaders, Turkey stressed the importance of lifting restrictions on Syria to start the reconstruction work for thereturn of refugees of the Syrian civil war.[325]
Syrian YPG (Syrian-Kurdish general commander of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi) expects continued military aid and defense umbrella from the Trump administration.[326] Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during his Senate confirmation hearing, stated support for the idea of Syrian Kurdish forces.[326] On January 25, 2025, Turkey clarified its position to EU at the joint news conference with visiting EU foreign policy chiefKaja Kallas in Ankara. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's call for resolution was: Turkey awaits US action.[327]
The fight against terrorism in Syria, including the PKK and ISIS, is now the responsibility of the new administration. We are ready to provide our support. We are also ready to support the new administration in the management of the camps (Al-Hawl refugee camp) in northeastern Syria. In this regard, our rightful expectation from all our partners is to end their relations with the PKK's affiliates [YPG] in Syria.
— Hakan Fidan, Türkiye awaits US to address bilateral issues from the ex-administration,[328]
President Erdoğan has expressed his willingness to collaborate with President Trump in achieving a truce that will end the Russia-Ukraine war.[325] At a security meeting, with Ukraine and 21 other nations, Turkey reiterated the importance of Russia and Ukraine signing a peace agreement until then, it will continue to implement Montreux Convention to block the passage of military vessels into the Black Sea, as it has done since Russian occupation of Ukraine started in February 2022.[329]
On October 22, 2025, the United States imposedsanctions against Russia's largest oil companiesRosneft andLukoil. The U.S. also threatenedsecondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions and companies that continue to do business with Rosneft and Lukoil,[330] which would affect their customers in Turkey.[331]
Rubio and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met on March 25, 2025.[332] Turkey emphasized the importance of stability in Syria and the Balkans, while discussing efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and the need for a ceasefire in Gaza. Turkey asked the U.S., using its influence on Israel, to address the need for increased efforts for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as adequate humanitarian aid into the region is in dire condition.[333]
In 2025, several Turkish students in the U.S. faced visa revocations and detentions, including an incident involving a student at theUniversity of Minnesota. While some cases were officially linked to legal infractions, others were seen as part of a crackdown onpro-Palestinian activism, a policy Trump had campaigned on. The move drew criticism from university officials and raised concerns about the chilling effect on international education and student exchanges between the two countries.[334]
Egypt, Qatar, and the United States brokered the2025 Israel–Hamas war ceasefire, withPresident-electTrump's active involvement. The first phase took effect on January 19, 2025, a day before President Trump'sinauguration. President Erdoğan called on the international community to fulfill its responsibilities toward ending the suffering of innocent civilians.[325]
The2025 Gaza Peace Summit on October 13, 2025, inSharm El Sheikh, following an agreement to implement the first phase of theGaza peace plan, although representatives for Israel and Hamas were absent. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Donald Trump, Qatari Emir SheikhTamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan all signed a joint declaration known as the "Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity."
On January 25, 2025, Minister of Foreign AffairsHakan Fidan stated that Turkey wanted all sanctions, but importantly, those underCountering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act to be removed.[328]
Netanyahu lobbied the US against the sale of F-35s to Turkey. Netanyahu aims to keep a military advantage over Turkey's air force as tensions in Syria rise.[335]
%2c_USS_Oak_Hill_(LSD_51)%2c_TCG_Gokova_(F496)_and_TCG_Anadolu_(L400)_at_Mediterranean_Sea_(3).jpg)
_and_TCG_Anadolu_(L-400)_in_the_Mediterranean_Sea_21_August_2023.jpg)
Since Johnson letter, thedefense industry of Turkey is growing.
The arms embargo by the US in 1975–1978 following the Cyprus invasion necessitated Turkey developing a defense industry based on national resources.[336]
During First Trump administration, bilateral relations between Turkey and the United States further deteriorated after the passage of theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, with an amendment added by SenatorJohn McCain requiring the Trump administration to submit a detailed report to Congress on the status of US–Turkey relations. The Department of Defense (DOD) submitted a mostly classified report to Congress in November 2018 followed by H.R. 648 which required the DOD report on the issue in 2019.[337] On December 14, 2020, the U.S. government decided to apply sanctions on Turkey, a NATO member, for disregarding theCAATSA law of 2017, following Ankara's decision to purchase theS-400 missile system from Russia. Turkey was also excluded from theF-35 Joint Strike Fighter program on July 17, 2019, citing risks associated with the connection of a potential Russian intelligence gathering platform with advanced radars and sensors to NATO's networks.[338][339] The U.S. also imposed restrictions against theTurkish Defence Industry Agency.[340][341]
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Turkey's 240 Lockheed MartinGeneral Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons were co-produced in Turkey by one ofTurkish Aerospace Industries' predecessors (TAI). The United States and Turkey signed an FMS contract in 2009 for 30 F-16 Block 50s to be co-produced by TAI.[342]
Alleged cable leaks highlighted Turkish concerns that upgrades toGeneral Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons had "precluded Turkish access to computer systems andsoftware modification previously allowed".[343]
Turkey was a Level 3 partner in theF-35Joint Strike Fighter program until 2019, when it was removed following its purchase of theS-400 missile system from Russia, despite theCAATSA law of 2017. TheTurkish Air Force andNavy were to acquire theF-35A andF-35B variants.
Turkey paid $1.4 billion for procuring F-35A aircraft, with six being delivered toLuke Air Force Base in Arizona, where Turkish pilots received training until the country's removal from the F-35 program in 2019.[344][345][346][347] The six F-35A aircraft built for Turkey were formally added to the inventory of theTurkish Air Force with code numbers 18–0001 to 18–0006,[346][348][347] but they were never allowed to leave the United States and are still kept inside hangars, for which the U.S. government demands rent payment from Turkey.[348][349]
Turkey, a NATO member, was one of eight countries—along with the United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Norway, and Australia—partnering with the United States in theF-35Joint Strike Fighter program.[350] Turkey planned to purchase up to 116 F-35s (100 F-35As for theTurkish Air Force and 16 F-35Bs for theTurkish Navy), with 90 to be delivered over an estimated 10-year period (2014–2023) and to be jointly assembled and/or developed by firms from the various JSF partners. The cost was estimated to be at least $11 billion and reportedly could have exceeded $15 billion, given continued cost inflation which kept increasing the unit price of the aircraft.The Pentagon decided to end Turkey's partnership in the F-35 program on July 17, 2019, due to the latter's purchase of theS-400 missile system fromRosoboronexport, a Russian state agency in theCAATSA sanctions list.[339] The Pentagon also cited risks associated with the connection of a potential Russian intelligence gathering platform with advanced radars and sensors to NATO's networks, and the possibility that it could be secretly used by Russia to obtain information about the F-35'sstealth characteristics such as itsradar signature.[338]
Turkey reportedly wanted to purchase drone aircraft from the United States to assist in its counterterrorism efforts against thePKK before its request was denied.[342] Turkey producedBayraktar Tactical UAS.
Turkey participated with the United States in theKorean War in 1950–53 and in missions in Somalia, Kosovo, andBosnia and Herzegovina in 1992–2004.[351]
Turkey has commanded theInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan twice since its inception.[352] 2,000Mehmetçik concentrated on training Afghan military and security forces and provided security at ISAF's Regional Command-Capital stationed in Kabul.[352] An undisclosed number of Mehmetçik were deployed to the Wardak and Jawzjan provinces to give ground support to USA Air Force Operations.[352]
During theIraq War, Turkey established the NATO Training Mission in 2005 and sponsored specialized training for hundreds of Iraqi security personnel in a secret facility in Turkey.[353]
For the Anatolian Falcon 2012 joint exercises, the United States sent the480th Fighter Squadron to train with Turkish pilots in the operationSuppression of Enemy Air Defenses.[354]
Operation Gladio is the codename for a clandestine "stay-behind" operation of armed resistance that was planned by theWestern Union (WU) (and subsequently byNATO) for a potentialWarsaw Pact invasion and conquest in Europe.[355]
Counter-Guerrilla is the branch of the operation. The operation's founding goal was to erect aguerrilla force capable of countering a possibleSoviet invasion. The goal was soon expanded to subvertingcommunism in Turkey. Counter-Guerrilla initially operated out of theTurkish Armed Forces'Tactical Mobilization Group (STK). In 1967, it was renamed to theSpecial Warfare Department before becomingSpecial Forces Command. Counter-Guerrilla's existence in Turkey was revealed in 1973 by then-prime ministerBülent Ecevit.[356]
The United States and Turkey share membership inNATO, theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and continue to cooperate in important projects, such as theJoint Strike Fighter program.
Since 1954, Turkey has hosted theIncirlik Air Base, an important operations base of the United States Air Force, which has played a critical role during theCold War, theGulf War, and theIraq War. Turkey routinely hosts the United States for Anatolian Falcon and (with Israel, before their relationship worsened) Anatolian Eagle exercises held at its Konya airbase.[357]
Turkish bases and transport corridors have been used heavily for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya as of 2011.[12]
In the2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, some of the planes used at the operation and a fueling carrier took off from Incirlik base; in response, the Turkish government arrested several high-ranking Turkish military officers at Incirlik and cut power to the base for nearly a week.[358]
Turkey hosts U.S. controlled nuclear weapons as part ofnuclear sharing policy. Its current arsenal isB61 nuclear bomb, while it formerly heldMGR-1 Honest John,MIM-14 Nike Hercules,PGM-19 Jupiter,W33 andW48 artillery shells.
Turkey does not have dedicated nuclear-capable fighter aircraft that can deliver the weapons and does not train its pilots to fly nuclear missions.[358]
To have theTerminal High Altitude Area Defense be approved, Turkey received two conditions:[359] Iran or Syria should not be named as a threat to Turkey, and Turkey's territory was to be protected by the system (as a national defense requirement). According to U.S. officials, theAN/TPY-2 radar was deployed at Turkey'sKürecik Air Force base and activated in January 2012.[360][361]
| Table 1. U.S. Military and Security Assistance to Turkey (historical $ in millions) Source: U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. State Department.[362] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year(s) | Foreign Mil. Fin. | Excess Defense Articles | Int’l Mil. Ed. and Training | NADR | INCLE | Other Grants | Total Grants | Loans |
| 1948–1975 | — | 869.0 | 111.8 | — | — | 3,406.0 | 4,386.8 | 185.0 |
| 1976–1981 | — | — | 3.4 | — | 1.0 | 10.5 | 14.9 | 952.9 |
| 1982–1992 | 1,884.0 | — | 36.4 | — | 6.7 | 1,362.1 | 3,289.2 | 2,769.1 |
| 1993–2001 | — | 205.1 | 14.0 | 0.1 | 3.2 | — | 222.4 | 1,678.1 |
| 2002–2008 | 170.0 | 21.1 | 23.7 | 8.6 | 0.1 | — | 223.5 | — |
| 2009 | 1.0 | — | 3.2 | 1.9 | 0.5 | — | 6.6 | — |
| 2010 | — | — | 5.0 | 3.0 | — | — | 8.0 | — |
| 2011 | — | — | 4.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | — | 5.9 | — |
| 2012 | — | — | 4.0 | — | 0.5 | — | 4.5 | — |
| TOTAL | 2,055.0 | 1,095.2 | 205.5 | 14.0 | 12.5 | 4,778.6 | 8,160.8 | 5,585.1 |
The United States and Turkey are both members in theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and theG-20. The US and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission.
Turkey is currently the 32nd-largest goods trading partner with $20.5 billion in total ($10.2 billion; imports $10.3 billion) goods trade during 2018. US' goods and services trade with Turkey totaled an estimated $24.0 billion (exports: $12.7 billion; imports: $11.2 billion) in 2017.[366] The trade deficit was $143 million in 2018.[366]
The US exports of goods and services to Turkey involved 68,000 jobs in 2015.[366]
The 1978 American semi-biographical filmMidnight Express wasbanned in Turkey underArticle 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which caused a strain on U.S.–Turkish relations. The movie was widely perceived in Turkey as a revenge for theTurkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and the establishment of the self-declaredTurkish Federated State of Cyprus in 1975, recognized only by Turkey. It was filmed almost entirely atFort Saint Elmo inValletta,Malta, which had played an important role during theGreat Siege of Malta (1565) by theOttoman Navy. The selection of this symbolic location, despite the existence of more economical alternatives closer to or within the United States, led to the perception that it conveyed a veiled warning message to Turkey regarding the fate of Cyprus.[b] Most of thevilified Turkish characters in the movie were portrayed by Greek and Armenian actors.Both within Turkey and Iran, the film generated comparisons with the anti-Iranian movieNot Without My Daughter. However, many creators associated withMidnight Express later apologized the film's wholesale vilification of Turkish people.[367]
Valley of the Wolves sparked intense interest to the point that the US ambassador to Ankara and Turkey's foreign minister exchanged positions on the fictional TV show. Both state officials were anxious to appear conciliatory, however they shared their opinions and perspectives on massacres of civilians at a wedding party, and multiple summary executions, and most controversial was on the depiction of the Abu Ghraib prison.[368] Abu Ghraib prison became famous byAbu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse.
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Turks renowned for their accomplishments in the United States includeAhmet Ertegun (1923–2006), the founding chairman ofAtlantic Records between 1947 and 2006. He discovered and championed many leadingrhythm and blues androck musicians. Ertegun also wrote classicblues andpop songs. He has been described as "one of the most significant figures in the modern recording industry."[369] Ertegun served as the chairman of theRock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum, located inCleveland, Ohio. In 2017 he was inducted into theRhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in recognition of his work in the music business. Ertegun helped foster ties between the United States and Turkey, his birthplace. He served as the chairman of theAmerican Turkish Society for over 20 years until his death.[370] He also co-founded theNew York Cosmossoccer team of theoriginal North American Soccer League.
Mehmet Oz (born June 11, 1960), also known asDr. Oz, is a Turkish-Americantelevision presenter, physician, author, professor emeritus ofcardiothoracic surgery atColumbia University, former political candidate, and PresidentDonald Trump's nominee to serve as administrator of theCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services during hissecond presidency. He was previously a member of thePresident's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition between 2018 and 2022. The son of Turkish immigrants, Oz was raised inWilmington, Delaware, and graduated fromHarvard University and theUniversity of Pennsylvania. He subsequently began his residency in surgery atColumbia University Irving Medical Center in 1986. In 2001, Oz became a professor of surgery atColumbia University, and later retired to professor emeritus in 2018. In 2003,Oprah Winfrey was the first guest on theDiscovery Channel seriesSecond Opinion with Dr. Oz, and he was a regular guest onThe Oprah Winfrey Show, making more than sixty appearances. In 2009,The Dr. Oz Show, a daily television program about medical matters and health, was launched by Winfrey'sHarpo Productions andSony Pictures Television, running for 13 seasons. Oz ran in the2022 U.S. Senate election inPennsylvania as a conservativeRepublican, thefirst Muslim candidate for Senate to be nominated by either major party. Oz lost the election to theDemocratic nomineeJohn Fetterman.
Aziz Sancar (born September 8, 1946) is a Turkishmolecular biologist specializing inDNA repair,cell cycle checkpoints, andcircadian clock.[371][372] In 2015, he was awarded theNobel Prize in Chemistry along withTomas Lindahl andPaul L. Modrich for their mechanistic studies of DNA repair.[373][374] He has made contributions onphotolyase andnucleotide excision repair in bacteria that have changed his field. Sancar is currently theSarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at theUniversity of North Carolina School of Medicine and a member of theUNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.[375] He is the co-founder of the Aziz & Gwen Sancar Foundation, which is a non-profit organization to promoteTurkish culture and to support Turkish students in the United States.[376][377]
Şafak Pavey (born July 10, 1976)[378] is a Turkish diplomat, columnist and politician. She was a member of theTurkish Grand National Assembly from the main oppositionRepublican People's Party (CHP) representingIstanbul Province.[379] She is the first disabled woman ever elected to the Turkish parliament, and is a member of theUnited NationsCommittee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[380][381] In 1996, before she turned 20, her left arm and left leg wereamputated after a train accident inSwitzerland. One year later, she went toLondon,United Kingdom, to pursue her education. She studied international relations at theUniversity of Westminster and completed her post-graduate studies at theLondon School of Economics.[382] In 2012, Pavey was honored by theUnited States Department of State with theInternational Women of Courage Award.[381][383]
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TheTurkish House (also calledTürkevi Center) is a 561-foot-high (171 m), 36-floorskyscraper located at 821 United Nations Plaza (First Avenue) inTurtle Bay, Manhattan,New York City, United States, across from theheadquarters of the United Nations.[384] Turkish House serves as the headquarters of multipleTurkish diplomatic missions in New York City, as well as a center of Turkish cultural activity.
Designed byPerkins Eastman, it has 36 stories and reaches a height of 561 feet (171 m) from the ground to the roof.[385][386] The building contains about 220,000 square feet (20,000 m2) of usable space, of which 180,000 square feet (17,000 m2) is used by thePermanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations and the Consulate General of Turkey in New York City; the rest is residential space. The curved facade is an allusion to thecrescent on theflag of Turkey, while the top of the skyscraper is shaped like atulip, thenational flower of Turkey.[386] Construction works commenced in September 2017[387][386] and the building was largely completed by May 2021.[385]
Established in 1863 byChristopher Robert, a wealthy American philanthropist, andCyrus Hamlin, amissionary devoted to education,Robert College inIstanbul is the oldest continuously operating American school outside theUnited States.[388][389] Six years after its foundation, with the permission (Ottoman Turkish:irade) of theOttoman Sultan, the first campus (currently housingBoğaziçi University) was built inBebek at the ridge of theRumeli Castle. Hamlin, who became the first president of Robert College, was preoccupied with the construction of the campus such thatGeorge Washburn acted as thede facto head of the college from 1871 onwards. In 1877, he was officially named president by the trustees. During his tenure between 1877 and 1903, Washburn "gradually assembled a faculty of distinguished scholars who firmly established the college's academic reputation."[390][391]
Christopher Robert died in 1878, leaving a significant portion of his wealth to the college.[392] In that same year, a college catalog was compiled, providing general information and an outline of the courses of study.[390] Defining the aims of the college, the catalog stated: "The object of the College is to give to its students, without distinction of race or religion, a thorough educational equal in all respects to that obtained at a first-class American college and based upon the same general principles."[393]
AfterGeorge Washburn, Robert College was administrated byCaleb Frank Gates Sr. (1903–1932). The school adopted a strictly secular educational model in accordance with the republican principles of Turkey andAtatürk's reforms since 1923. Robert College, at various points of its existence, hadjunior high school,high school, anduniversity sections under the namesRobert Academy,Robert Yüksek andAmerican College for Girls. Since 1971, the present-day Robert College functions only as ahigh school[394] on itsArnavutköy campus (formerly the campus ofAmerican College for Girls), yet it retains the title of "College". TheBebek campus was turned over to theRepublic of Turkey for use as a public university namedBoğaziçi University, the renamed continuation of Robert College's university section.
Bay Atlantic University (BAU) in Washington, D.C., was established byBahçeşehir University.[395][396]
TheTurkish lobby in the United States is a lobby that works on behalf of the Turkish government to promote the nation's interests with the US government. TheTurkish Coalition of America (TCA) is an educational, congressional advocacy, and charitable organization that was incorporated in February 2007.
TheOffice of Defense Cooperation Turkey is a United States Security Assistance Organization working on issues related to Turkey.
| Research, Advocacy, and Analysis | |
|---|---|
| Turkish Think Tanks | US Think Tanks |
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| Turkish University & Special programs | US University & Special programs |
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| Turkish Journalist | US Journalist |
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According to a survey conducted in the spring of 2017 and released in August, 72% of Turks see the United States as a threat to Turkey's security. Furthermore, the US was perceived as a greater threat to security than Russia or China.[397] According to PBS, opinions of the US dropped steadily from 1999/2000 (52% in Turkey in 1999/2000) and in 2006, favorable opinions dropped significantly in predominantly Muslim countries, which ranged from 12% in Turkey to 30% in Indonesia and Egypt.[398] A 2019 survey conducted by thePew Research Center showed 73% of Turks had anegative view of the United States, with only 20% having a positive view, the lowest among countries polled.[399] The same study also showed only 11% of Turks had confidence in the US leader at the time of the survey, PresidentDonald Trump, with 84% having no confidence in him.[399] A 2024 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center showed only 8% of Turks had confidence in US PresidentJoe Biden.[400]
The following histogram shows the percentage of Turks that viewed the United States favorably according to the PEW Global Attitudes Survey:[399]
Results of 2017 BBC World Service:
| Country | Positive | Negative | Neutral | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Turkey | 20% | 64% | 16% | -44 |
The United States has sentmany ambassadors to Turkey since October 12, 1927. Turkey has maintained many high-level contacts with the United States.
| Diplomatic | |
|---|---|
| Missions of the United States | Missions of Turkey |
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The Embassy of the United States is located inAnkara, Turkey, while theEmbassy of Turkey is located in Washington, D.C., United States.
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Since the relations established there were 16 official visits.
President Bill Clinton visited Ankara, İzmit, Ephesus and Istanbul on November 15–19, 1999. It was an official state visit during which he also attended theOrganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) summit meeting.
Relations between Turkey and the United States markedly improved during theObama administration's first term, but the two countries were nevertheless unable to reach their ambitious goals.[402] Obama made his first official visit to Turkey atAnkara andIstanbul April 6–7, 2009. There US critics who claimed that Turkey should not be rewarded by an early presidential visit as its government had been systematically reorienting foreign policy onto anIslamist axis. FormerU.S. Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris remarked: "Whatever the merits of this argument, the Obama administration, by scheduling the visit, have decisively rejected it."[403]
Turkish President Gül later referred to the visit as "evidence of a vital partnership between Turkey and the US," whilstTurkish Foreign MinisterAhmet Davutoğlu pointed out that they were "changing the psychological atmosphere" of what was before "seen as a military relationship".[404] Obama clarified: "We are not solely strategic partners, we are also model partners." With this change in terminology, "The President wanted to stress the uniqueness of this relationship. This is not an ordinary relationship, it's a prototype and unique relationship."[405] AUS House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing,The United States and Turkey: A Model Partnership, chaired by Head of the Subcommittee on EuropeRobert Wexler was convened after "the historic visit that Obama paid to Turkey", and concluded that "this cooperation is vital for both of the two states in an environment in which we face serious security issues in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, the Balkans, Black Sea, Caucuses and the Middle East, besides a global financial crisis".[406]
After Obama's visit, Turkish Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan andChief of the Turkish General Staffİlker Başbuğ hosted USChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff AdmiralMike Mullen in Ankara. During the closed-door meeting, they discussed the pledging of further Turkish support troops toAfghanistan and Pakistan where Turkish authorities have influence, the secure transport of troops and equipment from the port ofİskenderun during thewithdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and the pro-Kurdish terrorists operating in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq.[407]
In May 2013, Erdoğan visited the White House and met with Obama, who said the visit was an opportunity "to return the extraordinary hospitality that the Prime Minister and the Turkish people showed [him] on [his] visit to Turkey four years ago".[393] During their joint press conference, both Obama and Erdoğan stressed the importance of achieving stability in Syria. Erdoğan said that during his time with Obama, "Syria was at the top of [their] agenda" and Obama repeated the United States plan to support theAssad-opposition while applying "steady international pressure".[393] When they were not discussing national security threats, Obama and Erdoğan discussed expanding economic relations between the two countries; Turkey had received over $50 billion in foreign investments, $20 billion of which came from the United States.[408] In 2003, there was only $8 billion in U.S. investment in Turkey; both Erdoğan and Obama praised this recent increase and agreed to continue expanding the trade and investment agreements between the two countries.[393][408] Erdoğan's visit culminated with talks of stability in the region. Obama stressed the importance of normalizing relations between Turkey andIsrael and praised the steps Erdoğan had taken in that process. The process normalizing the Turkish-Israeli relationship had begun and Erdoğan stated that he would continue this process: "We don't need any other problems, issues in the region."[393][409]
In November 2019, Erdogan visited the White House and held meetings with U.S. PresidentDonald Trump.[410]
On September 25, 2025, during a meeting in theOval Office,Donald Trump praised Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan, stating that Erdoğan "knows about rigged elections better than anybody." Referring to his own time out of office as "exile," Trump claimed they had remained friends throughout, despite what he called a "rigged" 2020 U.S. election. He described Erdoğan as "highly opinionated," adding, "Usually, I don’t like opinionated people, but I always like this one." The comments drew notice due to Erdoğan's leadership style, which has frequently been described by critics as increasingly autocratic. During the meeting, Trump hinted at lifting the ban on sale of F-35 to Turkey.[411][412][413]
The extradition relationship between the United States and Turkey is governed by a bilateral treaty signed in Ankara on June 7, 1979, which entered into force on January 1, 1981. This treaty expanded upon an earlier 1923 agreement, broadening the scope of extraditable offenses to include crimes such as narcotics trafficking, hijacking, bribery, and obstruction of justice.[414][415]
Under the 1979 treaty, both the U.S. and Turkey must look at extradition requests if the act in question is considered a crime in both countries. But there are protections in place—like the political offense rule—which lets a country refuse extradition if the crime is political. In the U.S., courts also review each request to make sure there is enough evidence to justify the extradition.[416]
| Name | Reason |
|---|---|
| Eylem Tok and Timur Cihantimur | Turkish novelist Eylam Tok and her 17-year-old son Timusr Cihantimur have fled from Turkey after Timur allegedly caused an accident, on March 1, 2024, resulting in one death and multiple injuries. They were arrested in the US and Turkey requested their extradition, charging Cihantimur with reckless killing and Tok with aiding his escape. In February 2025 a US magistrate judge ruled that the charges were covered under the extradition treaty, allowing the process to proceed.[417][418][419] |
| Fethullah Gülen | Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish cleric that lived inPennsylvania. He was a major source of tension between the U.S. and Turkey. Turkey blamed him for the failed coup in 2016 and asked the U.S. many times to send him back. But U.S. officials refused, saying there was not enough evidence and that the charges seemed political. Gülen died in October 2024, bringing this issue to an end.[420][421] |
| Sezgin Baran Korkmaz | Sezgin Baran Korkmaz is a Turkish businessman who was arrested in Austria in June 2021. He was accused of helping to hide over $133 million from a large fraud scheme involving fake U.S. biodiesel tax credits. Both the U.S. and Turkey wanted him extradited, but Austria chose to send him to the United States. In July 2022, he was sent to Utah to face charges of money laundering, wire fraud, and interfering with a legal process.[422][423][424] |
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.A leftist separatist terrorist group that, before 1984, was quite active in the European area, ASALA began its operations before 1975.
Brunner is known to be protected in Syria by armed guards, presumably from the Syrian intelligence services. In the past, our source added, Brunner has done work on behalf of the Syrian intelligence services in training Kurdish guerrillas who operate from Syria against Turkey.
Die türkisch-israelischen Beziehungen sind nach der Militäraktion Israels auf dem Tiefpunkt. 'Staatsterrorismus' warf der türkische Ministerpräsident Erdogan Israel vor und sagte in einer Rede vor Parteifreunden voraus: 'Ab heute ist nichts mehr wie es war.' Von antisemitischen Tönen distanzierte er sich klar. [After Israel's military action, the Turkish-Israeli relations have reached a low. Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan accused Israel of 'state terrorism' and predicted in a speech to party members: 'From today on, nothing is anymore as it used to be.' He distanced himself clearly from antisemitical tones.]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan branded the Israeli action "barbaric".
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{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Türkiye'deki gizli ordunun adı kontr gerilladır.
DOC, ASAM
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