Turkey sent a letter to the U.S. about the establishment of a joint mechanism on the issues that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Joe Biden had previously agreed on, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın said Thursday.
Kalın told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the Foreign Ministry sent the letter regarding the mechanism, which issues would be addressed and how the process would unfold.
“We would like to maintain equal, fair and transparent relations based on mutual interest and respect in a comprehensive manner,” Kalın said, adding that while doing so, Turkey would prioritize its own national interests and priorities.
Erdoğan and Biden had met on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Rome in October and had a productive meeting.
He continued by saying that the two countries continue to keep in touch to resolve problems, which include the U.S. support for the PKK’s Syrian offshoot YPG terrorists, Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions against Turkey for its purchase of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia and Washington’s failure to take concrete steps against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) members in the U.S.
“We’ve been reiterating time and again that this support (for the YPG terrorists) is a wrong policy and needs to be changed,” Kalın said, adding that it is wrong in principle to annihilate a terrorist group by using another one.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to the YPG, despite its NATO ally’s security concerns.
The U.S. has a total of 11 bases in the provinces of Hassakeh, Raqqa and Deir el-Zour, which are currently under the control of the YPG. Interpol currently has a Red Notice warrant out in Ferhat Abdi Şahin’s name for playing a crucial leadership role in the YPG.
Kalın also noted that it was still possible to turn a new page in relations if the U.S. takes steps to recognize Turkey’s national security interests and relations may proceed in a much more productive manner. However, he added that it would not be possible to move forward if fundamental issues are not addressed.
