Why did Biden refuse to meet with Erdogan?

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, the cancellation of Erdogan’s visit to America is an important event that It has attracted the attention of most of the media in Ankara and Istanbul. Even though the cancellation of the trip was at the will of the host and Turkey was hoping until the last moment that this news was not true!

In recent weeks, the Turkish authorities had come to the conclusion that good things are going to happen. happen in the way of Ankara-Washington relations. Erdoğan’s team hoped that Joe Biden’s invitation to the President of Turkey to visit Washington could mark a new chapter in bilateral cooperation and remove previous tensions. But this did not happen and John Kirby, the spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House, announced in a press conference that there is no plan for a meeting between Biden and Erdogan!

Following the publication of Kirby’s words, the media in favor of the Justice and Development Party in The first step was to deny and ridicule this news. But finally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey confirmed it by publishing a statement, but with a different wording.

The Turkish diplomatic service preferred to announce “change of visit schedule” instead of “visit cancellation”. Turkish political experts believe that the American president’s meeting with his Turkish counterpart is a sign of a new tension in Washington-Ankara relations.

Is there any support for Hamas? Journalists who accompany Erdoğan on most of his foreign trips wrote in the first hours: “Speculations about President Erdoğan’s trip to America continue. I often feel the need to ask my news sources about the details. I know that after Ismail Haniyeh’s meeting with Erdogan, a group of Israeli lobbyists in America tried to prevent Erdogan from visiting Washington. America and Türkiye should not fall prey to such lobbies. This meeting must happen. Because we have very important issues to discuss with the United States. Such as the sale of the F-16 fighter, the review of the F-35 issue, the large operation we will carry out in Iraq, the presence of the PKK in Syria, the expansion of the tension between Israel and Iran to the region, and the war between Russia and Ukraine. We have achieved a very important position with our support for Sweden’s membership in NATO, we should not sacrifice this to lobbyists. The latest situation is as follows: President Erdoğan has not ordered the cancellation of this trip, and the Turkish and American delegations are reviewing the travel plan. My duty is to monitor and share every development.”

Who invited?

Esmat Berkan is one of the other Turkish political analysts He wrote: “Until yesterday, they said that it was Joe Biden who invited Erdogan to Washington. But Kirby said there was no such plan and no trip planned. Of course, during the past 3 years, Tayyip Erdogan was not invited to the White House even once. Tayyip Erdoğan met with Barack Obama and Donald Trump many times before Biden came to power. But he was able to see Biden rarely and only on the sidelines of foreign trips.”

Berkan further wrote: Some media claimed that Erdogan has given up going to Washington and meeting with Biden, and the reason for that is the US Senate’s decision to provide 26 billion dollars in aid to Israel. But Abdul Qadir Salvi, the writer of Hurriyet newspaper, who had received good news from the ruling circles, denied this news on April 24. But later, Kirby openly said: There was no such thing in the program, and therefore I have no opinion on this matter. It is very strange! First they say come to Washington, then they say there was no such invitation! What is the matter? If the American side first invited President Erdoğan and then withdrew the invitation, this is a serious situation. Since the invitation itself was already fraught with difficulties, the recent ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership opened the door. Now it is said that President Erdoğan’s meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh caused the cancellation of this invitation. We still don’t know whether President Erdoğan will still go to America to attend the NATO summit on July 9-11. I remembered Orhan Veli’s poem that he wrote: “Delbar Janan, who did not come during the day, will definitely not come in the middle of the night!”

Murad Yetkin, one of the other famous Turkish analysts who has been working as a journalist in Washington for many years, about this trip. He wrote: “I checked the matter. A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the delay was at Ankara’s request due to changes in the president’s schedule. Asked whether the meeting will take place before Erdogan attends the July 9-11 NATO summit in Washington, the same source said: “I’m not sure.” But probably after that trip. The source did not provide details about Erdogan’s schedule change that caused his trip to America to be postponed.”

Yatkin further wrote: “US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake responded to a question about He said at a meeting of the Turkey-US Business Council (TAIK) in Istanbul on April 26 that preparations and planning for the trip are still ongoing, but the official statement will be announced later.

The new date has not yet been determined, but it will be Erdogan’s first visit to the White House at the invitation of Biden since he took office.

Why is Erdogan’s trip important?

Erdogan is always very interested in talking and meeting It has shown with the presidents of the United States. In the recent elections, he clearly wished for Trump’s victory and told his team members many times; I will solve important issues and challenges in a private meeting with Trump himself, and there is no need for anyone to discuss these issues with the US State Department and the White House. But the relationship with Joe Biden has never been defined.

It is said that during his 33 years as a senator, Joe Biden has always had an angle with Turkey, and after the 2016 coup, he showed up too late to announce his support. and empathy to go to Turkey as Obama’s vice president.

Erdogan hopes to finalize the purchase of 40 F-16 fighter jets in his meeting with Biden and, in addition, to discuss the situation of the PKK in Syria and Iraq with his American counterpart. After all, trying to attract American investors is important to Erdogan’s team. But the evidence shows that, at least in the current situation, there is no news of dynamism and liveliness in the relations between Turkey and America, and ambiguity and uncertainty have cast a shadow over this relationship.

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