Tarek Kteleh

After years of frostiness, U.S.-Turkey relations could be warming again. It’s a welcome reset of the thermometer.

There’s plenty to dislike about the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, starting with what some consider the Turkish president’s oppressive approach to his political opponents and autocratic governing style. Yet, with Russian aggression on the rise and the Middle East in a state of tumult, U.S. national security interests require Turkey to be a partner that bridges the continents of Europe and Asia — a position that increasingly appears to complement Erdogan’s assessment of Turkish national security needs.

The “thaw” started during the G-20 summit in October 2021 when President Biden and Erdogan discussed their mutual interests as NATO members and trading partners. By April 2022, the Biden administration was already moving forward with a new U.S.-Turkey Strategic Mechanism, which would cement the nations’ joint stance against Russia after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

These diplomatic achievements helped assuage concerns about a permanent Turkish tilt toward Russia. Turkey is a NATO ally. Yet some analysts had begun to question the basic viability of the partnership — a blame game from which both sides stood to lose.

Turkish feelings were sore from the view that NATO hasn’t always backed Turkey to the extent it should. When Ankara shot down a trespassing Russian fighter jet in 2016, NATO defended Turkey’s right to self-defense. But when Putin threatened retaliation, NATO’s secretary general merely issued a milquetoast request for “calm and de-escalation” — something much less than a ringing reminder that under Article 5 of the NATO treaty, members regard an attack on any of them as an attack on all.

Not long after, Turkey decided to buy advanced Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, defying the United States and NATO. Washington responded by shutting off Ankara’s supply of F-35 fighter jets. Turkey seemed to be choosing Russia.

But Russia’s attempted courtship ultimately failed. In large part, that was due to the priority Putin placed on his alliance with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. The source of the rupture dates to a May 2017 deal between Russia, Iran and Turkey to establish four de-escalation zones in the Syrian civil war. The Turks no doubt thought the agreement could be the beginning of a mutually beneficial partnership.

But the ink had scarcely dried before Putin reneged and helped Assad seize the zones. Assad, aided by Russian airstrikes, attacked Idlib, a vulnerable region home to 30,000 Syrian rebels and 2.9 million civilians caught in the crossfire. Turkey demanded a cease-fire, but Putin and Assad shrugged off the request.

Given this history of treachery, Putin shouldn’t be surprised to find Turkey supporting Ukraine and warming up to the United States. Indeed, Ukraine owes much of its success at the beginning of the conflict to Turkish-produced TB2s — lightweight drones with a capacity for swift and deadly attacks. Soner Cagaptay, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, noted that despite its purported neutrality, Turkey was “actually in the front” of the conflict.

Turkey’s siding with Ukraine was apparent from the start. In February, at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request, Ankara blocked Russian warships from entering the Black Sea. Meanwhile, with 25 million tons of grain foundering in Europe’s bread-basket, Turkey has helped Ukraine export food from three ports, including Odessa.

America should reward Turkey’s gestures of good faith in Ukraine. That means rolling back the sanctions imposed after Ankara’s purchase of Russia’s S-400s and supplying Turkey with F-35s again. It also means displaying greater sensitivity toward Ankara’s concerns about the United States fighting alongside the Syrian Kurds’ People’s Protection Units, which have ties to Ankara’s primary enemy, the terrorist group known as the PKK. And it means pushing the U.S.-Turkey Strategic Mechanism — and pushing it hard.

Strengthening America’s partnership with Turkey could also help avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. Millions of Syrian refugees reside in Turkey, and in the lead-up to elections next spring, more and more Turks have vocalized support for sending those refugees back in response to the nation’s economic woes. Guidance from American officials and nongovernmental organizations could ensure that, if Turkey does commence resettling refugees, it’s done with as much care and compassion as possible.

Accomplishing these goals will require mutual respect and a shared understanding of both sides’ legitimate security concerns. Building on that trust will have massive payoffs. Most important, closer ties would be a valuable safeguard against the disturbing changes rogue governments — whether it be Russia, Iran or China — are trying to impose.

Tarek Kteleh is a medical doctor and president of Rheumatology of Central Indiana. He is the author of The Six Pillars of Advocacy: Embrace Your Cause and Transform Lives. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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