Highlights of the Erdoğan-Trump meeting

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump went exactly as expected. It was a very successful meeting in symbolic terms, allowing the two countries to reaffirm their commitment to working together, mend their strained relationship and keep negotiating. Turkish and U.S. officials found an opportunity to listen to each other at length.

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Highlights of the Erdoğan-Trump meeting
No breakthrough in Turkish-American relations soon

No breakthrough in Turkish-American relations soon

There were too many controversial issues on the table in President Erdoğan’s recent visit to Washington and the meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington's continuing support for the People's Protection Units (YPG); the S-400 missiles; the situation with the F-35 fighter jets; Washington’s policy on the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and other sanction bills against Turkey are urgent issues for Turkey that need to be tackled constructively by the American authorities. Only a reset in Turkish-American relations can assure a significant change, but the circumstances are not conducive to a reset. For the moment the Democratic Union Party (PYD) issue seems to be the biggest problem leading to constant tensions between the two countries.

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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump meet in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, November 13. Kadir Ustun, Executive Director at SETA Foundation DC, discusses Erdogan-Trump summit, what President Erdogan has achieved in this visit.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is in Washington, D.C. today for a highly anticipated meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. There are many issues on the two leaders' agenda, including Turkey's procurement of the Russian S-400 air defense system, Washington's relationship with the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian branch and the fight against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).

French President Emmanuel Macron told The Economist last week that NATO was "brain dead." He blamed the alliance's supposed problem on the lack of "coordination... of strategic decision-making between the United States and its NATO allies." Macron added that Turkey's actions were "uncoordinated," warning that NATO failed to monitor the actions of its members.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday announced his decision to visit Washington. He reached that decision following a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, who invited him.

US support for YPG based on incorrect assumptions

Turkish-American relations are experiencing the heavy burden of Washington's alliance with the People's Protection Units (YPG), as the YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist group, which Turkey has been struggling against for the last four decades. This vision will not change any time soon despite Washington's denial of the PKK-YPG connection. There are many other significant obstacles to the normalization of Turkish-American relations but Washington's flirt with the YPG is the most controversial one.

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US support for YPG based on incorrect assumptions
How to build trust in Turkey-US ties

How to build trust in Turkey-US ties

Another important meeting in Washington between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to be held next week. The state of Turkish-American relations and the crises between the countries make this meeting more critical than any other to date between the two leaders.

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President Erdoğan vowed that Turkey will not stop working until Syria completes its reconstruction process

From sanctions against Turkey to cooperation with nonstate actors, the U.S. establishment seeks ways to help the PKK form a statelet in the region

Turkey's war against Daesh played a crucial role in the defeat of the notorious group and the killing of its leader

Much has been written regarding Ankara's negotiations with Russia and the U.S. and the process and potential outcomes of the accords the countries have reached following intense diplomatic activity.

The PKK/YPG threat in the region is far from over, but the group's nationalist project — the so-called 'cantons' — are now dead in the water

Turkey's legitimate campaign in Syria needs further steps to establish terror-free areas in the region

Turkey's deals in Syria have provided a great opportunity for a more secure region, but there is still a lot of work to do

The five days of intense diplomacy are here. The first step to determine northern Syria's fate was taken in Ankara, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. By Tuesday evening, a second step must be taken. In his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdoğan will complete the proposed safe zone's main framework.

In the last seven decades, since the beginning of the strategic relations between Turkey and the U.S., there have been different tensions and crises between the two countries. Observers and historians of Turkish-American relations have defined some of these crises as "turning points" and "critical junctures" that significantly affected the general trajectory of bilateral ties.

The Turkey-US agreement is a great second chance for Washington to reformulate its inconsistent Syria policy

Terrorist YPG/PKK's federation claim disappeared, Syria’s territorial integrity protected with agreement, say analysts

By demonizing the Turkish anti-terror operation in northern Syria, Western countries miscalculate regional balances, damage their interests

Although their practices are already beyond the pale in terms of journalistic ethics, both the U.S. and the European media are apparently seeking to set a new record with regard to their old prejudices