×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Tuesday
22
Jul 2025
weather symbol
Athens 34°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Politics

Foreign Policy: It is time to let Turkey go – Analysis

It might be the best way to repair ties in the long run

Newsroom December 17 09:22

If, as observers like to suggest, the U.S.-Turkish relationship resembles a slow-motion train wreck, the good news is that the trains have been moving more slowly than some expected. The bad news is that they are still heading toward each other on the same track. Present-elect Joe Biden is now in the unenviable position of brakeman… and he can’t expect much help from his counterpart in the oncoming train.

For Biden, the challenge will be to minimize the damage that Turkey can do to U.S. interests without provoking new conflicts or foreclosing the possibility of future cooperation. His work must begin with recognizing that Washington cannot single-handedly rescue the U.S.-Turkish alliance, nor will Erdogan ever offer any real or lasting reset—no matter how many times he seems to do so. The United States and Turkey will continue to work at cross purposes and there will continue to be more crises. If everyone is lucky, there will also be periods of respite and some progress on areas of common interest.

To best navigate this no-win situation, Washington should be clear-eyed about Turkey’s role in U.S. foreign policy, and also about its own role in Turkish domestic politics: It will be nearly impossible to cooperate with Turkey when the Turkish government sees the United States as a threat, and it will be difficult to support Turkish democracy when much of Turkey’s opposition does too.

See Also:

Coronavirus Greece: 1.190 new cases & 85 deaths in the last 24 hours

>Related articles

Greece’s strategic signal through the Marine Parks — and why it provokes a reaction from Turkey

Wave of asylum revocations for Turkish nationals expected – How crime figures entered Greece as refugees claiming persecution by Erdoğan

What applies to the Marine Parks – Tension in Turkey: “We will declare our own too,” reports Anadolu

The National Interest: The problem with Turkey’s Proxy Militias isn’t just military – Analysis

A number of explanations have been offered as to why Turkey has taken a more combative approach toward the United States and its other Western allies in recent years. Some analysts have highlighted the domestic political benefits that Erdogan derives from his bellicose, anti-Western stance, particularly now that he is in an electoral alliance with Turkey’s ultra-nationalist party. Others have emphasized the role of Erdogan’s Islamist ideology and aspirations for leadership in the Muslim world. Still others point to a series of specific Turkish grievances, such as Washington’s support for Syrian Kurdish fighters or its refusal to extradite the Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen back to Turkey, and argue that these explain or justify Turkish hostility.

Read more: Foreign Policy

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#analysis#Armenia#Azerbaijan#cyprus#defence#diplomacy#egypt#eu#F-35#foreign policy#greece#isis#islam#israel#jihadists#libya#military#Nagorno-Karabakh#NATO#politics#russia#S-400#sanction#syria#turkey#Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan#usa#war#war by proxy#west#world
> More Politics

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Today the vote on the report on the referral of Karamanlis to the Judicial Council – Reactions from the opposition

July 22, 2025

SEF: An NBA-style stadium in Faliro – The Aggelopoulos brothers’ plans

July 22, 2025

Greece’s strategic signal through the Marine Parks — and why it provokes a reaction from Turkey

July 22, 2025

PASOK experiences internal challenges following connection in the OPEKEPE scandal

July 22, 2025

Government unveils positive agenda: Marine parks, bank reform, and Peace & Friendship Foundation deal

July 22, 2025

The heatwave has begun, with scorching temperatures across the country – highs of up to 43°C expected today

July 22, 2025

Wave of asylum revocations for Turkish nationals expected – How crime figures entered Greece as refugees claiming persecution by Erdoğan

July 22, 2025

How the cocaine ring involving Greek dockworkers was dismantled – The €200,000 fee, secret meetings, and the Porsche

July 22, 2025
All News

> Greece

The heatwave has begun, with scorching temperatures across the country – highs of up to 43°C expected today

In almost the whole country the thermometer will climb even more than it did on Monday - What to watch out for vulnerable groups, what applies to those who work in the countryside

July 22, 2025

Wave of asylum revocations for Turkish nationals expected – How crime figures entered Greece as refugees claiming persecution by Erdoğan

July 22, 2025

How the cocaine ring involving Greek dockworkers was dismantled – The €200,000 fee, secret meetings, and the Porsche

July 22, 2025

Agia Paraskevi: The wife of the Polish professor also sent to prison – She failed to convince that she had no connection to his murder

July 21, 2025

The country “boiled” today and it was only the beginning of the heatwave – Temperatures above 42°C during the day and 30°C at night

July 21, 2025
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2025 Πρώτο Θέμα