Understanding US–Turkey Relations: Conspiracy, Syria and Power Grab

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Ankara this past Thursday, probably one of the most delicate meetings he has attended. On the table, three sensitive issues to discuss:

1. the fight against the Islamic State in Syria

2. the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, a Pennsylvania cleric who the Turkish government blames for the failed coup attempt last July

3. the arrest of a top Turkish banker in New York on charges of conspiring to evade trade sanctions on Iran.

This piece by Ishaan Tharoor is great at explaining the key points of the relationship between the two NATO allies and the difficulties that Mr Tillerson had to navigate during the meeting.

On Conspiracy

The article claims that the Trump administration has a number of "curious connections" to President Erdogan, one of the most interesting observations.

• The ousted national security adviser Michael T. Flynn was being paid to lobby for Ankara, discussing ways to remove Gülen from the States.
• Part of the defense team representing a Turkish–Iranian gold leader, arrested one year ago under the same charges as the Turkish banker, are two Trump supporters: former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former US attorney general Micael Mukasey.

Ankara believes both arrests are politically motivated.

On Syria

Turkey has repeatedly criticized the American plans to combine forces with the Syrian Kurdish militia (YPG), who Ankara views as terrorists. The US depends on those groups during the coming offensive on Raqqa, but also on Turkey's Incirlik Air Base. Some Turkish officials have threatened to close it if Washington keeps working with the militias. There are difficult choices to be made.

On Power Grab

Tillerson arrives two weeks before a referendum that many worry will precipitate the country into authoritarianism.

Human Rights Watch has criticized him for not meeting the opposition:

“You would expect the secretary to show the United States is evenhanded in advance of a referendum on the future of the country.”