How are the relations of Ankara and Washington affected by the change of the American president?

A few days ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his wishes for the best fortunes for his American counterpart, Joe Biden, in the upcoming presidential elections, which the United States will witness in 2024. Does this mean that the Turkish president, who met his American counterpart on the sidelines of the NATO summit, is looking forward to the survival of Biden in office? Is there a new rapprochement between the two countries?

In this context, Nicholas Heras, a senior analyst at the American “Newlins” Institute for Research and Strategic Studies, explained, “Biden understands his Turkish counterpart very well, as he knows that he demands that he be dealt with on an equal footing as a head of state and not as a follower or leader of a group that can be controlled, as the president used to do.” Ex-Donald Trump with his Turkish counterpart,” as he put it.

In statements to Al Arabiya.net, the American analyst added, “Erdogan demands that his American counterpart deal with him as the head of a strong country that has institutions and has relations with the United States, no matter how many presidents change, and therefore he wants to improve his country’s relations with the United States.”

And he continued, “If Biden does not win the presidency next year, the biggest change that Erdogan may face is that he will not face American pressure regarding his dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the event that Trump wins the presidency,” stressing that “the former US president may focus on More on confronting China if he wins the presidency next year.

A meeting between Trump and Erdogan at the White House in 2019

The American expert believed that “Turkish-American relations are affected by the change of US presidents, and for example, Trump enjoys close personal relations with Erdogan, in complete contrast to the current president,” hinting that “Trump’s victory in the presidency may mark a new turning point in Turkish relations.” American.”

Over the past years, Turkish-American relations have witnessed great tensions due to the United States’ support for Kurdish fighters in Syria during their war against ISIS, and Washington’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide in late April 2021, in addition to the United States’ exclusion of Turkey from Turkey. The US F-35 fighter program in 2019 against the backdrop of Ankara’s purchase of the Russian-made S-400 defense system.

The Turkish president had wished his American counterpart good luck in his campaign for re-election next year, during their meeting. On the sidelines of the NATO summit this week. The US President replied, “I look forward to seeing you in the next five years.”

Turkish media quoted the Turkish president as saying last Thursday that Turkey expects all its NATO allies to lift the sanctions and restrictions on the Turkish defense sector.

Erdogan had told reporters upon his return from the NATO summit in Lithuania that Turkish ministers would hold further talks with their American counterparts on buying F-16 fighter jets.