At a time of lukewarm relations, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is scheduled to fly to the United States on May 9, upon invitation of his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, Turkish media outlets reported. This will be the first time he will be in the White House under the Biden administration.
Türkiye and the United States are two historic allies though their ties deteriorated over disagreements over a string of issues. Diplomatic ties remain robust and the two leaders occasionally talked to each other over the phone, but their last in-person meeting was last July, during a NATO summit. The same event focused on Sweden’s NATO membership, something Türkiye initially opposed. After Türkiye’s approval of the accession, ties regained momentum. Most recently, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalın held talks in the United States. Their visit is viewed as a preparatory meeting for Biden-Erdoğan talks.
Erdoğan and Biden will have a lot to talk about but the situation in Gaza and defense cooperation, as well as the fight against terrorism, are all expected to be hot topics, Turkish media reported. Erdoğan will reiterate Türkiye’s call for an end to Israel’s attacks in Gaza and finding a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict solely based on a two-state solution.
The Turkish president has long been critical of the U.S. stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, particularly Washington’s unconditional support of the Netanyahu administration, which he accused of committing crimes against innocent Palestinians. In February, Erdoğan told journalists that the peace process in the conflict failed to bear fruit due to the negative approach of the United States.
Biden and Erdoğan will also discuss the Turkish acquisition of F-16 fighter jets from the United States, as well as the modernization process of jets Türkiye already purchased.
On Jan. 27, the U.S. State Department approved the pending $23 billion (TL 718.16 billion) sale of F-16 aircraft and modernization kits to Türkiye after Ankara greenlighted Sweden's NATO membership. Türkiye, in October 2021, requested 40 new F-16 Block 70 aircraft and 79 modernization kits from the U.S. to upgrade its remaining F-16s to Block 70 level. Türkiye was part of the F-35 program before its participation was suspended over a dispute about Ankara buying the S-500 Russian air defense system after its efforts to buy U.S. Patriot missiles were rebuffed. A senior U.S. diplomat recently appeared to open the door to Türkiye perhaps joining the F-35 program if the dispute were resolved.
Erdoğan’s talks will also concentrate on Türkiye’s disappointment in U.S. support for the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist group, which has killed thousands in Türkiye over the past four decades.
Earlier this month, Turkish officials reiterated a call to the United States to end its support for the YPG, after a high-level U.S. visit to the terrorist group.
"The U.S. continues to support the PKK/YPG/SDF terrorist organization under the pretext of fighting against Daesh. It is not possible to fight a terrorist organization using another terrorist organization. So the fight against terrorism cannot be done with terrorists," a Defense Ministry source told reporters.
In late February, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Cmdr. Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla visited the al-Hol and al-Roj camps for displaced people in Syria, where the YPG/PKK terrorist group holds the families of Daesh terrorists. "Our expectation from friendly and allied countries is to stop aid and support to the PKK/YPG/SDF terrorist organization and to provide sincere support to our fight against terrorism," the source said.
The PKK/YPG has grown stronger in the region, particularly in Deir el-Zour province, home to Syria’s largest oil wells, thanks to material support from the United States.
The issue strains Turkish-U.S. ties as Ankara warns its NATO ally against aiding terror elements that threaten its national security, something Washington continues to do despite promising to remove the group from the Turkish border area.
"We maintain our will to create a 30 to 40-kilometer-deep (19 to 25-mile-deep) security corridor along our Syrian border. We are determined to fill the gaps in this corridor with new steps, part of which we have already established with our previous operations,” Erdoğan said in statements earlier this month.
“As we have openly told them in person, we call on all in the region to respect this security strategy of ours. Otherwise, they themselves will be the reason for potential tensions. We have preparations that will cause new nightmares to those who assume they can bring Türkiye to its knees by establishing a ‘terroristan' along our southern borders," the president warned.
Türkiye continues regular operations against the PKK/YPG presence in Syria. Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations since 2016 across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield in 2016, Olive Branch in 2018 and Peace Spring in 2019 – operations that the U.S. opposed.
