MUNICH, Feb 19 (Portal) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in Turkey on Sunday for an official visit and will discuss how Washington is continuing to help Ankara deal with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands can.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria on February 6, killing more than 45,000 people and leaving over a million homeless, along with an economic cost expected to be in the billions of dollars.
Also high on the agenda will be Sweden’s and Finland’s stalled NATO bids, which Turkey has so far refused to ratify, citing Stockholm in particular as having allegedly harbored members of terrorist groups. Ankara recently indicated that only Finland would approve it.
The senior US diplomat will land at Incirlik Air Base in the southern province of Adana, from where he will take a helicopter tour of the earthquake area. On Monday he will then hold bilateral talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
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Blinken is also expected to meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, sources familiar with the planning said.
Since the earthquake, the United States has dispatched a search and rescue team to Turkey, medical supplies, concrete breaking machines and an additional $85 million in humanitarian assistance, which also covers Syria.
Blinken’s first visit to Turkey as foreign secretary has been in the works for some time but comes two years after he took office, in stark contrast to some of his predecessors, including Hillary Clinton and Rex Tillerson, who made the visit within three months of their terms.
The delay, analysts say, shows the strained nature of the relationship, which has particularly deteriorated since 2019, when Ankara acquired Russian missile defense systems. While the United States has praised Turkey for some of its actions during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it remains concerned about its close ties with Moscow, experts say.
NATO LOCK
Sweden and Finland applied to join the Transatlantic Defense Pact last year after Russia invaded Ukraine, but faced unexpected objections from Turkey and have been trying to enlist their support ever since.
Ankara wants Helsinki and Stockholm in particular to crack down on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), viewed by Turkey and the European Union as a terrorist group, and another group they blame for a 2016 coup attempt.
In January, Erdogan said he was ready to ratify only Helsinki’s proposal.
Linked to the membership bids is Turkey’s desire to buy US-made F-16 fighter jets, a sale the US Congress has objected to unless Ankara at least gives the green light to the Nordic accession process.
On Saturday, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen echoed this sentiment, saying that simply letting Finland join the alliance would not be enough.
“There will be no transfer of F-16s if Erdogan keeps denying approval to Finland and Sweden… He doesn’t get Finland and the F-16s won’t be approved, and I think that’s a widespread opinion,” said Van Hollen in an interview.
The Biden administration has repeatedly said it supports the sale, and while it has refrained from linking the two issues, it has acknowledged that approval for the Nordic countries would have a positive impact on members of Congress.
Turkey has expressed frustration that the issues are becoming increasingly intertwined. Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan’s chief foreign policy adviser, said last month he hoped the F-16 deal would not become “hostage” to Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO memberships.
Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Edited by Daniel Wallis
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