Ankara says ties with US not based on individuals as Tillerson exits
Ankara: Departures from White House have no effect on ties with US
PRIME Minister Binali Yıldırım said yesterday that Turkish-U.S. relations do not depend on individuals or their personal views on Turkey, addressing worries as to whether Rex Tillerson’s departure as secretary of state would affect relations between the two countries. “Whoever comes in, Turkey’s stance is clear. It is not so important to us what the new secretary thinks about Turkey,” Yıldırım said, speaking to the media in Ankara before leaving for Baku, Azerbaijan. “I hope healthier relations [with the U.S.] can be developed after that,” he said.
U.S. PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Tuesday announced CIA Director Mike Pompeo as his pick to be the country’s new secretary of state after ousting Tillerson. “Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!” Trump said on Twitter.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said yesterday that his trip to Washington scheduled for March 19 for a meeting of joint working groups might be delayed due to the change of state secretary of the U.S.
“We don’t know yet whether our meeting will take place. Our officials in Wash- ington are following the situation. I think it will become clear in a couple days,” he said during a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow. He added that Turkey would like to work with the new state secretary with an “understanding of mutual respect.”
Çavuşoğlu announced on Tuesday that the NATO allies have agreed to monitor security in Manbij, Syria and other areas held by the YPG once it withdraws from the region. . The decision was discussed on March 8-9 between the working groups from both countries in Washington. Çavuşoğlu added the details of their plans will be discussed and a roadmap will be drawn on how to proceed during their next meeting in Washington.
During Tillerson’s visit to Turkey on Feb. 15-16, three working groups were es- tablished between Ankara and Washington to contribute to normalizing bilateral relations and overcome issues related to Syria, the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and Iraq. It took place after the launch of Operation Olive Branch by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) into northwestern Syria to clear the PKK-affiliated People’s Protection Units (YPG) from the region.
The White House and State Department have had a number of high-profile clashes after Tillerson took the post as the U.S.’s top diplomat, including a glaring split during a dispute between Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbors.
Tillerson has long been dogged by reports that his tenure as secretary of state would be cut short. As recently as December, Trump had rejected speculation that Tillerson’s days were numbered, saying that the two “work well together.”
Pompeo, in contrast, has formed a tight relationship with Trump that has led to a role much broader than many past CIA directors. A former businessman and socially conservative Republican from Kansas, Pompeo is at the White House nearly every day to deliver the daily intelligence briefing, a task often delegated to less senior officials. He sometimes stays longer to accompany Trump to other meetings. He also shares the president’s hardline stance against Iran. For Pompeo’s post, Trump has tapped Gina Haspel to lead the CIA – a spymaster who once ran a CIA prison in Thailand where terrorism suspects were subjected to a harsh interrogation techniques that the president has supported.