Erdogan remains a headache for Biden, even after Ukraine deal
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped broker a deal to unlock Ukrainian grain, but alarmed US officials on other fronts.
WASHINGTON — When Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement on Friday to unblock Ukrainian grain exports, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan played the role of a benevolent statesman.
Seated next to the UN secretary-general in an Ottoman palace in Istanbul, Erdogan said the deal, that the Turkey helped negotiate, would benefit "all of humanity".
President Biden's administration hailed the deal, which could ease a crisis world food supply intensified by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the blockade of its ports. Officials expressed skepticism about Russia's good faith, and Russian missiles hit the Ukrainian port city of Odessa less than a day after the pact was signed. Yet a White House spokesman had praised Mr. Erdogan for his efforts.
But privately, Mr. Erdogan remained a source of substantial irritation for Biden administration officials.
p>Days before presiding over the grain deal, the Turkish autocrat renewed a warning that he could oppose his veto of NATO plans to accept Sweden and Finland as members in the coming months, a move that would deeply embarrass the alliance and the Biden administration as they work to counter Russia. And Congress this month expressed doubts about Mr Biden's promise at a NATO summit in Spain last month to sell dozens of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. /p>
On Tuesday, Erdogan traveled to Tehran for talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. Images of two main US rivals with Mr. Erdogan, the head of a NATO country, clashed with the Western narrative of a deeply isolated Iran and Russia, analysts said.
Then on Friday, a White House spokesman reiterated US concerns about Mr. Erdogan to stage a new invasion of northern Syria targeting US-backed Kurdish fighters whom he considers terrorists.
Taken together, the Mr. Erdogan's actions — and Mr. Biden's limited ability to contain them — underscore the Turkish leader's unique position as a military ally often at odds with the agenda of his Western allies. For US officials, it's an often infuriating role.
"Erdogan is basically the Joe Manchin of NATO," said Elizabeth Shackelford, a former military officer. foreign service, referring to the conservative Democratic senator from West Virginia who thwarted Mr. Biden's national agenda. “He is part of our team, but he is doing things that are clearly not good for our team. And I just don't see that changing. But Biden administration officials say disbarring Erdogan altogether would be counterproductive. The position of his nation at the crossroads of East and West is strategically important and allows him to be an interlo...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped broker a deal to unlock Ukrainian grain, but alarmed US officials on other fronts.
WASHINGTON — When Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement on Friday to unblock Ukrainian grain exports, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan played the role of a benevolent statesman.
Seated next to the UN secretary-general in an Ottoman palace in Istanbul, Erdogan said the deal, that the Turkey helped negotiate, would benefit "all of humanity".
President Biden's administration hailed the deal, which could ease a crisis world food supply intensified by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the blockade of its ports. Officials expressed skepticism about Russia's good faith, and Russian missiles hit the Ukrainian port city of Odessa less than a day after the pact was signed. Yet a White House spokesman had praised Mr. Erdogan for his efforts.
But privately, Mr. Erdogan remained a source of substantial irritation for Biden administration officials.
p>Days before presiding over the grain deal, the Turkish autocrat renewed a warning that he could oppose his veto of NATO plans to accept Sweden and Finland as members in the coming months, a move that would deeply embarrass the alliance and the Biden administration as they work to counter Russia. And Congress this month expressed doubts about Mr Biden's promise at a NATO summit in Spain last month to sell dozens of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. /p>
On Tuesday, Erdogan traveled to Tehran for talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. Images of two main US rivals with Mr. Erdogan, the head of a NATO country, clashed with the Western narrative of a deeply isolated Iran and Russia, analysts said.
Then on Friday, a White House spokesman reiterated US concerns about Mr. Erdogan to stage a new invasion of northern Syria targeting US-backed Kurdish fighters whom he considers terrorists.
Taken together, the Mr. Erdogan's actions — and Mr. Biden's limited ability to contain them — underscore the Turkish leader's unique position as a military ally often at odds with the agenda of his Western allies. For US officials, it's an often infuriating role.
"Erdogan is basically the Joe Manchin of NATO," said Elizabeth Shackelford, a former military officer. foreign service, referring to the conservative Democratic senator from West Virginia who thwarted Mr. Biden's national agenda. “He is part of our team, but he is doing things that are clearly not good for our team. And I just don't see that changing. But Biden administration officials say disbarring Erdogan altogether would be counterproductive. The position of his nation at the crossroads of East and West is strategically important and allows him to be an interlo...
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