President Erdogan is seeking to reset Turkey’s strained ties with the United States by inviting President-elect Donald Trump to visit, and said Trump spoke very positively about Turkey during a phone call. Trump’s election victory this week was generally met with cheer in NATO-member Turkey, with markets rallying and some officials cautiously optimistic about prospects for new U.S. economic policies.
While Erdogan and Trump had their spats during the latter’s first term in office, the most notorious being Trump threatening to lay waste to Turkey’s economy, if American Pastor Andrew Branson is not released. The clergyman was convicted of aiding and abetting terror, but was speedily released and dispatched home after Trump’s threats. Nevertheless, the two leaders found a “sweet spot” in their relationship towards end of Trump’s first term. Ankara now hopes that a large file of issues spatting the two countries can be resolved under Trump 2.0.
Erdogan told reporters on a flight back from a European summit in Budapest that he hoped Trump would accept the invitation.
He said he hoped a visit would strengthen cooperation between Turkey and the United States and lead to a relationship “different from (Trump’s) previous term”, when clashes on a number of issues led to Washington imposing punitive tariffs that hurt Turkey’s economy.
“We had a sincere call with Mr. Trump while he was at a family dinner (that included) Elon Musk and Musk’s child,” Erdogan said of the Wednesday call, according to an official Turkish readout.
An official in Erdogan’s AK Party told Reuters that Ankara expects the Trump administration to be more flexible and understanding of its security needs, especially against the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) in Syria and Iraq.
Turkey expects Donald Trump’s White House will lower tariffs on its steel and textile exports, the trade minister said on Thursday, as the lira and Turkish assets continued to rally on prospects of new U.S. trade and foreign policies.
“We expect that…customs duties will be reduced in our foreign trade, especially in steel and textile products,” Trade Minister Omer Bolat said on broadcaster AHaber, adding that Turkey’s defence and financial sectors could also benefit.
US is also loudly complaining about Turkish businesses violating the ban on dual-purpose exports to Russia, threatening Turkey with sanctions. The case of state-lender Halkbank, which is accused of violating sanctions on financial transactions with Iran is still lingering in a New York federal appeals court.
While Ankara is guardedly optimistic about better bi-lateral relations under Trump, Turkish experts are mor cautious. Deniz Zeyrek of pro-opposition SOZCU urged Erdogan “to curb his enthusiasm”, because his pro-Iran and anti-Israel rhetoric could rub Trump the wrong way.
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