Turks call for new alliance

– Turning a blind eye to multiple policy differences, Turkey is seeking a tighter alliance with Washington under President Donald Trump but the road to a rapprochement may not be easy.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s relationship with the White House worsened drastically in the final months of the Barack Obama administration, mired in rows on issues from Syria to the extradition of the preacher Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish leader’s arch-foe.

But Turkish officials repeated none of the gloom that some EU leaders expressed after Trump’s election, instead hoping he would open a new page in relations.

Trump’s administration has a “good opportunity to make bold moves” in his foreign policy after the previous administration’s “disregardful” attitude, said Ayse Sozen Usluer, head of international relations at the Turkish presidency.

She added the new administration would assess anew its relationship with Turkey regarding trade, military, the fight against terror among other issues and “take new steps to improve relations”.

Less than 48 hours after Trump and Erdogan had held their first conversation of the new US president’s White House term, new CIA chief Mike Pompeo flew out to Ankara last week to meet the Turkish leadership in his first foreign visit. – AFP