Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is unhappy with the United States. Despite Vice President Joe Biden’s high-profile visit to Ankara Aug. 24, the embattled leader of the key NATO nation was not assuaged that the U.S. is a reliable ally.
Here are some difficult topics Erodgan is likely to broach during his private one-on-one meeting with Obama in China on the margins of the G-20 economic summit on Sunday.
Exiled Cleric Fethullah Gulen
Erdogan believes that the Pennsylvania resident was behind the failed July 15 coup against his government. He wants the U.S. to extradite him and has submitted a formal request, which so far U.S. official say lacks merit.
Obama will stress that he can’t just deport residents on a whim and that expatriots can only be returned to their home countries after the State and Justice departments determine that the foreign government has provided sufficient evidence.
The YPG
Turkey has been at odds with its Kurdish minority for decades. One of the most militant Kurdish separatist movements within Turkey is the YPG, which is helping the U.S.-led coalition in its battle to dismantle the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Turkey recently upped its military engagement against the Islamic State, or ISIS and ISIL as the Sunni-led terrorist group is also known, but has taken aim at the YPG in the process, further fracturing U.S.-Turkish relations.
Not on the agenda: Rising anti-U.S. sentiment in Turkey, frequently fueled by Erdogan’s rhetoric.
Turks increasingly believe that the U.S. was involved in the failed coup against Erdogan. For his part, Erodgan has done nothing but fan the flames of anti-Americanism. However, neither leader is likely to bring up the sensitive subject, one expert predicted.
“In Turkish government-controlled media, there is quite a vitriolic smear campaign against the U.S. and American individuals and officials, and this has been going on since the aborted coup,” said the Foundation for Defense of Democracy’s Aykan Erdemir, a former Turkish Parliament member.
“They have repeatedly accused the U.S. of being behind it but Erdogan won’t raise it” with Obama, Erdemir said. “Erdogan is a good tactician, he fuels this fire at home because it serves his domestic agenda but it’s mainly for domestic consumption.”
“The black box is Obama,” he said. Obama is harder to predict, Erdemir said.
Erdemir said that the Turkish-Western alliance is fraying and that ignoring major disputes will not ultimately benefit either democracy.
“What does it mean to lose Turkey?” Erdemir asked if Turkey continues its drift toward authoritarianism
“Is winning Turkey about appeasing Erdogan as he dismantles Turkey’s democracy? Or is winning Turkey really about engaging Turkey?” he asked.
If Obama and the West really want to help Turkey by keeping it in the Western sphere, look for U.S. and European leaders to pressure Erdogan to pay heed to Turkey’s constitution and democratic values.
