Erdogan: Turkey’s common interests with US outweigh differences
Turkey wants to improve cooperation with the United States on a “win-win” basis, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, striking a conciliatory tone amid strained relations between the two NATO allies.
“As Turkey, we believe our common interests with the United States far outweigh our differences in opinion,” Erdogan said in televised comments on Saturday, adding that Ankara wanted to strengthen cooperation through “a long-term perspective on a win-win basis”.
“Turkey will continue to do its part in a manner worthy of the allied and strategic partnership ties between the two countries,” he said, adding Turkish-US ties had been “seriously tested” recently.
Ties between Turkey and the US have been strained over a host of issues in recent years. In December, the US sanctioned Turkey for its purchase of Russian S-400 defence systems.
Turkey has said it wants improved ties under US President Joe Biden, but has called on Washington to end its support for the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, and accused it of siding with fighters who it says executed 13 Turks in northern Iraq this month.
Ankara has been infuriated by US support for the Kurdish fighters in Syria, whom it considers “terrorists”.
