This is a file photo of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (By Reuters)
Almost a fortnight prior to his meeting with US President Joe Biden, Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recounted some of the tensions in relations with the US administration and warned Washington that it could "lose a precious friend" by seeking to corner Ankara.
"At the meeting, we will ask why the Turkey-US relations are going through such a tense period," Erdogan said in an interview with Turkish state broadcaster TRT on Tuesday.
He said Turkey was "a strong and reliable partner" at NATO, adding, "Those who corner the Republic of Turkey in this way will lose a precious friend."
The Turkish and American presidents are scheduled to meet in Brussels, Belgium on the sidelines of the NATO summit on June 14.
Erdogan listed several issues that have strained bilateral relations since 2016, with the most recent one being the White House formal recognition of the "Armenian genocide" by the Ottoman Empire that occurred more than a century ago, during World War I.
"What is the reason for our tensions (with the US)? The so-called Armenian genocide," Erdogan said.
"Dont have you have any other problems to deal with rather than advocating for Armenia?"
Back in April, Biden became the first US president to make such a proclamation on the issue, immensely infuriating Ankara.
Erdogan recalled how he had managed to work with each president in the White House "whether Republican or Democrat," including Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Ankara did not "have such a tension with any of them," the Turkish president said.
Turkey acknowledges that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during the Great War, but denies that the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute genocide.
The two NATO member states have been at loggerheads over a range of other issues, one of them being US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of having masterminded the July 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan.
Turkey has since been calling on the US to extradite the opposition figure. Washington has until this day refused to do so.
Another bone of contention between the two states is the US support for Kurdish fighters from the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terrorist organization affiliated to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey for decades.
"We have provided every evidence revealing the ties between PKK and YPG/PYD but they choose to turn a blind eye to these.
"If you are our ally, are you going to stand with us or are you going to stand with these terrorists? Unfortunately, they are taking side with these terrorists," Erdogan pointed out.
Another thorny issue in bilateral relations is Ankaras purchase of Russian S-400 missile system, which the US alleges is not compatible with the military hardware owned by the other countries of the Western military alliance.
Washington also alleges that the S-400 defense system poses a threat to the American Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter jets, which were to be jointly produced in Turkey.
That production was canceled by the White House over Ankaras purchase of the Russian S-400.
Late last year, Washington imposed sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition of the Russian-made air defense system.
Ankara condemned the move as a "grave mistake" that would inevitably harm mutual relations and threatened retaliation.
Turkey has stressed all along that it is determined to proceed with the S-400 deal despite the US opposition.
In remarks last week, Erdogan said he intended to mend ties with Biden, calling for Washington to be more constructive.
The two leaders have so far only held one phone call.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/22719
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