Ankara and Washington: Temporary Chill or Bridges Burned Down?

On Monday, Washington’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford met with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Radio Sputnik discussed the rendezvous with Turkish journalist Kemal Okuyan: are Washington and Ankara making first steps to restore ties following the failed coup in Turkey?

The high-profile meeting came as tensions simmer in bilateral relations between the West and Turkey, Okuyan explained to Loud & Clear host Brian Becker.

First, he stressed, the West is concerned about Turkey turning away, and towards Russia, following the attempted putsch in the country, which many Turks believe was orchestrated by the US.

Second, the situation in Syria is deteriorating for NATO, and Turkey, as a member of the bloc, is a key player in the region that could help reverse that trend for the West. Gaps  in NATO policies in Syria are becoming more obvious, Okuyan said, adding that “they have lost initiatives.”

Finally, Erdogan is very inconvenient for the West, as he’s unpredictable. “Erdogan has completely lost control” of the situation in his country and on the international arena, the journalist explained. “This cannot go on like that. Erdogan is a real problem for the US because he’s not easy to control.”

“The negotiations are trying to wear a friendly mood. Nobody tries to be hard on the other side,” Okuyan said of Turkish officials’ position in many areas of international affairs. “But media is not like that. In media there’re lots of stories that leaders of the coup have connections with the US, Britain. Some officials like the mayor of Ankara directly accuse the US of orchestrating the coup.”

There’s certain belief among the Turkish public that the coup was facilitated from the West, as the four previous uprisings in the country were somehow linked to American authorities, Okuyan pointed out. Erdogan is trying to manipulate this attempt, he added.

“Erdogan has some real evidence about involvement of high level bureaucrats in the US or other NATO countries in the coup. The aim is to compromise each other. This is real bargaining but it might get out of control.”

At the same time, though, Ankara is unlikely to leave NATO following the coup, because the stability of the Turkish economy and subsequent well-being of the country’s population are “based on relations with the West.” Despite Turkey importing a lot of its energy from Russia, he stressed, main trade ties are those with the West, Germany and the US in particular.

“People know how the US and the West exist in Turkey. So any change in this will mean that there will be some economic problems. And people that support Erdogan are doing that not only because he’s a religious man. Most of supporters are getting some part of the paradise that created rich new bourgeois class.”

The coup has also buried the Turkish dream to join the EU, the journalist outlined.

“The illusion about the EU has collapsed. In every mean: economically, related to freedoms. People lost interest plus everybody knows there will be no real membership.”

To add insult to injury, the strife over Fetullah Gulen, the exiled Turkish cleric believed by many authorities in Ankara to have been involved in the coup attempt, will continue to impede the reconciliation process between the West and Turkey. And despite a lack of evidence, Okuyan thinks that the links between the cleric and coup leaders is obvious.

“The relation of the coup with Gulen is obvious, and he lives in the US. He had a great time with Hillary Clinton, getting financing and support from her. He has close ties with the CIA. It’s impossible that the old religious leader wakes up and says and I will try to have a military coup in Turkey. This is ridiculous.”