Trump, Erdogan agree to improve ties after reelection, but tensions remain

ANKARA/WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump congratulated Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday on his victory in Sunday’s presidential election and the two leaders agreed to improve bilateral defence and security ties, Erdogan’s office said.

Relations between the NATO allies have been strained over a host of issues in recent months, including Washington’s support for Kurdish fighters in Syria and defence procurements.

On Tuesday, a top US State Department official warned Turkey that its purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets would be jeopardised if it does not drop a plan to buy S-400 missile defence systems from Russia.

If it buys the system, Turkey would also be subject to sanctions under a bill President Donald Trump signed into law last summer, Wess Mitchell, US assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, testified in the Senate.

That sweeping sanctions law, known as CAATSA, seeks to punish companies that do business with Russia’s defence industry.

Earlier this month, Ankara and Washington agreed on a plan for the withdrawal of the Kurdish YPG militia from the northern Syrian city of Manbij, a move long sought by Ankara. Turkey views the US-backed YPG as a terrorist organisation.

In their phone conversation, Trump and Erdogan emphasised the need to implement the endorsed plan on Manbij and agreed to work together in the fight against terrorism, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

Trump and Erdogan will meet in Brussels for a NATO summit on July 11-12  Turkey has also annoyed the United States with its detention of a US Christian pastor, Andrew Brunson, on terrorism charges.

A US Senate committee last week passed a spending bill including a provision to block Turkey’s purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35 jets, citing the S-400 deal and Brunson’s detention. He has denied the charges against him.

Turkey was also infuriated by the sentencing of a former Turkish state bank executive last month in New York to 32 months in prison for taking part in an Iran sanctions-busting scheme, a case Ankara has branded a political attack.

Erdogan won a fresh five-year term in Turkey’s presidential election on Sunday, also securing sweeping new powers under a constitutional overhaul approved by a narrow majority of Turks in a referendum last year.