Ankara and Washington have to leave their differences aside and focus on common areas of interest after years of tumultuous relations, experts from the two countries emphasized on Saturday.

Relations between Turkey and the U.S. were discussed at a panel held by the Directorate of Communications in New York.

The panel, which hosted local and foreign academics Friday at the Türkevi Center, covered the historical, political and economic aspects of relations between the two countries.

Speaking at the first session, Çağrı Erhan, a rector at Turkey’s Altınbaş University, said relations with the U.S. date to the late 18th century.

"The main encounter is not on military issues, but on commercial issues," Erhan said, adding that trade was the most important item on the agenda in the early periods.

The U.S. public began to perceive Turks negatively after the outbreak of wars in North Africa in the early 19th century.

Despite the ups and downs, military cooperation has been made in relations over time, he said, recalling that the U.S. manufactured 11 warships for the Ottoman state in the 1830s.

Kılıç Buğra Kanat, Washington research director at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), said the two countries made important attempts to establish confidence until World War II.

The strategic relations were started immediately after the war, he said, adding that Russia is sometimes a "fault line" or a "glue that binds the two countries together."

In the second session, Mike Doran, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, said he has been closely following relations between the two countries since 2016.

More and more people are realizing that relations with the PKK are a strategic mistake, even if they do not like to admit it, he said, adding that the U.S. alienated its ally, Turkey, in Syria.

The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Turkey and the European Union, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara. The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Turkey strongly opposed the YPG's presence in northern Syria.

Noting that he is "more optimistic than ever" regarding bilateral relations, Doran said there is a real opportunity to rethink everything from start to finish.

Brenda Shaffer, director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and Eastern European Studies at Georgetown University, discussed the ties in the field of energy.

Shaffer said the energy crisis that emerged in Europe with Russia's war on Ukraine underlined the importance of Turkey and the south corridor alternatives.

Stressing that the most suitable way for Israel's exports to Europe would be through Turkey, she said Ankara’s diversified market, with about six different supply projects, could be a lesson for many countries.

Former U.S. State Department advisor Rich Outzen, who made the final speech at the panel, said Turkey and the U.S. are two good but not easy allies in the long run.

Outzen said it is a difficult relationship and Washington has unrealistic expectations about its allies.

Noting that there are political and cultural differences between the two countries, he emphasized that while the American people generally live as a closed society to the outside world, Turkey has deep-rooted traditions in dynamic geography from Asia to the Middle East.

It is necessary to leave the problematic areas aside and focus on common interests and there is a large area in this regard, especially in Ukraine, he said, adding the two countries have common interests in many areas.

Among various problems that harm Turkey-U.S. relations is the U.S.' cooperation with the terrorist organization PKK's Syrian branch, the YPG, its attitude toward the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), disagreements over the S-400, and Washington's sanctions against Ankara. However, the two countries have recently announced the establishment of a new strategic mechanism to focus on areas of cooperation and overcome problems.

The first step of the strategic mechanism was taken during the meetings of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden in Rome on Oct. 31, 2021.

Attending the panel via video conference, Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said the U.S. administration should also stand with Turkey in the fight against regional and global terrorism.

The U.S. should realize before it is too late that the presence of the FETÖ in its country is also a threat to American society as of now, Altun said.

Stressing that Turkey is always open to developing cooperation with the U.S. in areas of mutual interest, he said Ankara aims to solve problems and disagreements that negatively affect bilateral relations by effectively managing them. Turkey will continue the "constructive, realistic and determined" approach, in the same way, he added.

He went on to say that the potential for cooperation between Turkey and the U.S. in all fields, from economy to security, should be fully mobilized.