Turkey turns to medical diplomacy to heal relations

ANKARA — Emblazoned with Turkish flags and presidential seals, crates packed with medical equipment are loaded onto planes, part of a major aid campaign by Ankara which has dispatched supplies to dozens of countries since the new coronavirus pandemic erupted.

"There is hope after despair and many suns after darkness," says a message on every shipment — a line from 13th century Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi, which looks to better days not just in the battle against COVID19 but also for Turkey's fraught diplomacy.

With its relations with NATO allies in Europe and the United States darkened by disputes over Russian missile defences, human rights and Western sanctions on Iran, Turkey hopes the virus crisis is an opportunity to soothe recent tensions.

Despite battling one of the world's biggest coronavirus outbreaks at home — where the death toll now exceeds 3,700 — Turkey has sent medical aid to 61 countries, including the United States, Spain, Italy, France and Britain.

By its own calculations, Ankara has been the world's third biggest aid distributor during the outbreak, sending face masks, protective suits, testing kits, disinfectant and respirators.

In a letter to President Donald Trump sent with one shipment, President Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped the "spirit of solidarity" Turkey had shown would help U.S. politicians "better understand the strategic importance of our relations."

Ankara faces potential U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defences, which it bought last year but has not yet fully deployed. Despite the threat of sanctions, it says the systems will ultimately be activated.

On Saturday, Erdogan also called on the European Union to increase its cooperation with Turkey in light of the support Ankara provided member states during the outbreak.

"I hope the EU now understands that we are all in the same boat," he said.

Turkey remains a candidate for EU membership but the process has long stalled amid disputes over Turkey's human rights record, the handling of Syrian refugees and gas exploration around Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean.

PAVEL MIKHEYEV • REUTERS Workers wearing protective gear unload a shipment of medical supplies from Turkey intended to combat the spread of COVID-19 from a cargo plane arrived at Almaty International Airport, Kazakhstan on April 18.