Daily Sabah logo

Politics
Diplomacy Legislation War On Terror EU Affairs Elections News Analysis
TÜRKİYE
Istanbul Education Investigations Minorities Expat Corner Diaspora
World
Mid-East Europe Americas Asia Pacific Africa Syrian Crisis Islamophobia
Business
Automotive Economy Energy Finance Tourism Tech Defense Transportation News Analysis
Lifestyle
Health Environment Travel Food Fashion Science Religion History Feature Expat Corner
Arts
Cinema Music Events Portrait Reviews Performing Arts
Sports
Football Basketball Motorsports Tennis
Opinion
Columns Op-Ed Reader's Corner Editorial
PHOTO GALLERY
JOBS ABOUT US RSS PRIVACY CONTACT US
© Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2023

Daily Sabah logo

عربي
  • Politics
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • Elections
    • News Analysis
  • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Expat Corner
    • Diaspora
  • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • Islamophobia
  • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
  • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
  • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Reviews
    • Performing Arts
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
  • Gallery
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
  • TV

Perpetual ups and downs in Ankara-Washington negotiations

by Kılıç Buğra Kanat

Mar 03, 2018 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Kılıç Buğra Kanat Mar 03, 2018 12:00 am

It was reported this week that Turkish and U.S. delegations will start their meetings next week. A few weeks ago during their meetings in Ankara, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson decided to establish some working groups to resolve the problems that exist between Turkey and the U.S. It is a positive sign for the future of bilateral relations since in a joint statement they demonstrated the goodwill and commitment to recognize and resolve the problems between the two countries. However, there are several issues that Turkish policy makers and public are expecting as a result of these meetings. The U.S. side should be cognizant of these expectations. First of all, it should be very clear by now that something needs to be done in regard to the People's Protection Units (YPG) issue. Former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower once said, "Plans are nothing; planning is everything." In Turkey-U.S. relations due to the failure of the U.S. to fulfill its promises, today promising is nothing and action on those promises are everything. There should be some positive steps from the U.S. side in order to start the healing process in the relations. The promises about this issue may mean only little due to the problems in mutual trust between the two countries. On the positive side, the current state of relations make threshold really low in regard to the improvement in relations. So, a small step will bring important improvements in the relations. That step can start with the fulfillment of the U.S. promises in Manbij.Secondly, the interagency disputes in Washington do not reflect well in Turkey. Regardless of who made the statement it is considered a position of the U.S. administration. The U.S. Central Command's (CENTCOM) statement about the border protection forces composed of YPG members made sufficient damage in relations until Tillerson's statement came after a few days. This interagency struggle started to be considered an excuse by large segments of society in Turkey. Because of that, in regard to the critical foreign policy issues, clarity of the message is extremely important. Of course, the policy on Syria at this point needs to be clarified as well by the U.S. administration. CENTCOM Cmdr. Gen. Joseph Votel's statement on the U.S.'s Syria policy during his testimony at Capitol Hill was somehow in contradiction with the goals Tillerson put forward in his Syria strategy speech a few weeks ago. This is confusing U.S. allies and other countries in the region about the real goals of Washington.

Thirdly, the public messaging will be important in one of the most sensitive period of the relations. The committees need to focus on this issue. This is related with the interagency problem in Washington but it also has a different angle on it. The statement of U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert about the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolution on a cease-fire and its applicability to the Turkish operations in Afrin was an unfortunate intervention to the process of healing. Çavuşoğlu and Tillerson's statements explicitly recognized that the parties should respect the right to self-defense in case of a terrorist threat.

Furthermore, the UNSC resolution, which aimed to end the humanitarian crisis in some of the areas of Syria, was never mentioned the Turkish operation in Syria. Thus, Nauert's stance can generate a public reaction in Turkey against the U.S. especially while the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department are working to resolve the problems, such statements will put both the negotiators' under immense amount of pressure and risk the success of the working groups. In fact, considering the significance of public opinion in foreign policy in Turkey, the U.S. side might consider being more sensitive on the issue of the Afrin operation. A statement of support for the operations in Afrin can be meaningful at this point, considering there is a widespread belief that the U.S. did not appreciate the trauma that the Turkish people went through as a result of the terrorist attacks that took place in Turkey over the last three years.

To understand these sensitivities will be important for the meetings that will take place next week and of course for the future of bilateral relations between the two countries as well.

About the author
Kılıç Buğra Kanat is Research Director at SETA Foundation at Washington, D.C. He is an assistant professor of Political Science at Penn State University, Erie.
  • shortlink copied
  • RELATED TOPICS
    fight-against-terrorism DEUTSCHE-BANK US-LIBYA-RELATIONS
    The Daily Sabah Newsletter
    Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey, it’s region and the world.
    You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
    No Image
    In photos: Opposing groups clash after pro-Trump protests decry president's election loss
    PHOTOGALLERY
    • POLITICS
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • News Analysis
    • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Diaspora
    • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • İslamophobia
    • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
    • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Performing Arts
    • Reviews
    • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
    • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
    • Photo gallery
    • Jobs
    • privacy
    • about us
    • contact us
    • RSS
    © Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2021