“Turkey felt that the potential additional benefits it could gain by extending the process were no longer worth the pressure Turkey would face,” said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the director of the Ankara office of the German Marshall Fund. of the United States. .
The shift, he said, also appeared to be part of Mr Erdogan’s attempt to get Turkey away from Russia and towards the West. That would be significant, if sustained, he said.
“Turkey and Russia did not and do not have a love relationship,” Mr Unluhisarcikli said. Instead, they engage in “competitive cooperation,” he said, and tend to get closer when Turkey feels distant from the West.
As indications that Mr. Erdogan is distancing Turkey from Russia, he cited Turkey’s decision to allow fighters from Ukraine’s Azov regiment to return to Ukraine from Turkey last weekend, angering Russia, as well as the failure of the Mr Erdogan to unequivocally side with Mr Putin as a Wagner mercenary. troops marched on Moscow in June.
“Erdogan may have judged that it is not a good idea to put all the eggs in Putin’s basket,” he said.
On the other hand, admitting Sweden to NATO and working out the F-16 deal could allow Mr Erdogan to warm up the chilly relationship with Washington.
Mr Biden has kept Mr Erdogan at bay since he entered the White House. During his election campaign, he characterized Erdogan as anti-democratic and vowed to support the Turkish opposition. Mr. Erdogan, in turn, had cordial relations with former President Donald J. Trump.
Mr Biden and Mr Erdogan have met before during Mr Biden’s presidency, but Mr Biden is the first US president not to receive Mr Erdogan at the White House since the Turkish leader began his national political career in 2002.
Gulsin Harman reporting contributed.
