Turkey–United States relations
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The Republic of Turkey (Türkiye) and the United States of America established diplomatic relations in 1927. Relations after World War II evolved from the Second Cairo Conference in December 1943 and Turkey's entrance into World War II on the side of the Allies in February 1945. Later that year, Turkey became a charter member of the United Nations. Since 1945, both countries advanced ties under liberal international order, put forward by the US, through a set of global, rule-based, structured relationships based on political, and economic liberalism. As a consequence relationships advanced under G20, OECD, Council of Europe, OSCE, WTO, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, IMF, the World Bank and the Turkey in NATO.[1]
Turkey |
United States |
---|---|
Diplomatic mission | |
Embassy of Turkey, Washington, D.C. | Embassy of the United States, Ankara |
Envoy | |
Turkish Ambassador to the United States Sedat Önal | American Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake |
During interwar period (1918-1939), Turkey-US laid the groundwork for cooperation without a defined strategic interest.[2] The US send a Congressional delegation to emphasize trade and business, along the non-missionary philanthropy and other cultural enterprises.[2] Archaeological expeditions sponsored by American universities.[2]
During World War II, (1940-1945), the oil set to become increasingly important for American interests. President Roosevelt had a geo-strategic plan, Middle East, in mind at the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement in 1944. Succeeding President Truman defined Turkey’s geo-strategic location as the "proximity to the great natural resources."[2] In the coming US engaged oil wars in the Middle East, Turkey supported the US in some capacity directly or indirectly by giving use authorization of the Incirlik Air Base. After World War II, the Mandate for Palestine, which was established from Ottoman Syria after the dissolution and the partition of the Ottoman Empire, was terminated by the result of the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. Turkey in March 1949 and the US on January 31, 1949 de jure recognized Israel. On the other hand, at the Palestinian Declaration of Independence only Turkey's recognition came on the same day, 15 November 1988. Before the Cold War, Turkey-US relations were already set to a course based on two dimensions. The first dimension was petroleum politics, and the second dimension was the fate of the Palestinians (Palestinian territories, Two-state solution).
During the Cold War (1945-1991), Turkish Straits crisis of 1945 developed over requested Russian military bases in the Turkish Straits as a part of Soviet territorial claims against Turkey, which prompted the United States to declare the Truman Doctrine in 1947.[3] In 1947, Office of Defense Cooperation Turkey was established as part of United States Security Assistance Organizations to help in modernization, develop interoperability, promote cooperation, and integrate Turkey into the Western system. As a result of the integration, Turkey became part of the intelligence operations (1960 U-2), and the missile systems (1962 Missile Crisis). At the same time, the geopolitical strategic foreign policy, Containment, caused a response from the Soviet Union in the form of increased communist influence in Turkey. In 1964, President Johnson disclosed the reluctance among Western powers to defend Turkey (Johnson letter). The War on drugs created a backlash when farmers lost their jobs (opium ban). The negative Amarican sentiment used in developing a new left movement (Left extremisim). In 1969, Ambassador Komer's car was set on fire by the Marxist-Leninist Dev-Genç during his visit of Kurdaş at the Middle East Technical University, in which the nascent institution was developed using the aid given by the US.[4] In the coming years, Turkey became a front as the political violence in Turkey (1976–1980) developed part of worldwide left-wing terrorism aimed at overthrowing the capitalist government of Turkey and replacing with a communist or socialist society. According to State Department, US has an interest in keeping Turkey anchored to the Euro-Atlantic community.[5] During cold war, U.S. supported the accession of Turkey to the European Union, as Turkey would be aligned with European norms and standards in many domains.[6]
Over the 2010s, Turkey has become a much more independent geopolitical player, but at the same time less predictable and does not correspond to the ideas of the United States in general about what kind of Turkey the US would like to see as a “model” for the Muslim countries of the Middle East. As the instability in the region increased, Turkey also no longer an “island of stability” for the US, but a source of new, often unexpected impulses on a regional scale.
Over the 2020s, Turkey was listed in "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act" and consequently TAF removed from NATO technology acquisitions. The source of the deterioration was not limited to the military, as evident in the dispute over the Armenian genocide, which the United States recognized in 2021. According to Department of State, 2023, Turkey has been a key partner for U.S. policy in the surrounding region.[5] Turkey partnered with the US for security in Afghanistan (ISAF), and serves as NATO’s vital eastern-southern anchor, controlling (international convention) the straits of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. Turkey contributes(ed) to international security alongside U.S. forces in Europe (Bosnia), and the seas bordering Somalia. Turkey borders Georgia (Russo-Georgian War), Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh conflict), Iraq (Iraqi conflict), Syria (Syria civil war) and Iran (Hostile to America), conflicts in the above-mentioned countries have affected relations between the two countries.