Turkey turns to Europe for trade opportunities
Aiming to capitalize on worries about U.S.
ISTANBUL — Beset by a shaky currency and tension with the United States, Turkey is reaching out to Europe to shore up relations with major trading partners despite years of testy rhetoric and a stalled bid for EU membership.
The engagement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has harshly criticized Germany and other European nations in the past, is part of a diplomatic campaign to capitalize on international unease over U.S. President Donald Trump and American tariff disputes around the world.
Also this week, Qatar pledged
$15 billion in investments in Turkey and Russia’s foreign minister talked about using national currencies instead of the dollar in trade with Turkey.
Even so, many commentators believe the path to Turkey’s long-term recovery lies in bold economic steps, such as an interest rate increase to curb inflation after years of debt-fueled growth, as well as a resolution to a bitter rift with the United States over an American pastor on trial in a Turkish court. They wonder to what extent Erdogan, who has intensified his control over Turkey as leader for nearly 16 years, can modify his positions after saying the currency crisis and standoff with Washington is an “economic war.”
The dialogue with NATO allies in Europe as well as Russia, seen by many in Washington as a threat to U.S. interests, reflect Turkey’s unusual status as a strategic country in a volatile region where world powers have long been deeply involved. Turkey, which has secular traditions and a mostly Muslim population, has generally taken a pragmatic course since the Cold War, staying anchored in Western institutions but also engaging Iran and other regional heavyweights.
In a fresh emphasis on Europe, Erdogan spoke by phone about stability and cooperation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, and with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday. In addition, Turkey freed two Greek soldiers who had been held in a Turkish prison for months. And a Turkish court freed Taner Kilic, an Amnesty International representative who was jailed for 14 months, though the terror-related charges against him were not dropped.
“There is a growing reaction in Europe against the Trump administration’s restrictive and punitive economic policies,” Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for the Turkish president, said in remarks that did not address the difficulties in relations between Europe and Turkey.
He said Turkey, France and Germany “are on the same page” in opposing the U.S. move to impose tariffs.
Washington imposed sanctions on two Turkish government ministers and doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports.