U.S.-Turkey feud called ‘lose-lose situation’
Diplomatic scuffle threatens countries’ tourism, trade
Sinan Sökmen’s business depends on American tourism, so he was shocked when the United States and Turkey suspended visitor visas this week.
“We were not expecting such harsh political moves from both sides, but I didn’t think this would last more than a couple of days because it was affecting everyday people’s lives,” said Sökmen, owner of Istanbul Tour Studio, which works with English-speaking visitors. “This is between the politicians, and if American travelers come to Turkey after this crisis, there will be no hostilities toward them from the Turkish people.”
Though the initial panic from Sunday’s diplomatic crisis subsided Wednesday, the latest flare-up between Turkey and the United States signals the deteriorating relationship between two critical military and economic allies.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party renewed calls Wednesday for the United States to reverse its decision to stop processing non-immigrant visas in Turkey. The U.S. government took that step after the arrest of Metin Topuz, a Turkish employee of its consulate on charges of espionage and links to Pennsylvania-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Topuz was the second Turk employed at a U.S. diplomatic mission to be arrested.
The Turkish government said Gulen was behind a coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016 and demanded that the United States extradite him, something Washington has refused to do.
Turkey retaliated by suspending non-immigrant visas to U.S. citizens and arresting the wife and daughter of a third Turkish employee of the U.S. Consulate.
“This is a lose-lose situation ... from trade to tourism, to growth and jobs for both countries,” said Bahadir Kaleagasi, CEO of the Turkish Industry and Business Association. “So we advise both capitals to act rationally, with common sense and with open and sincere diplomacy.”
Kaleagasi said the recent tensions jeopardized a new project planned by his group to increase ties between Silicon Valley and Turkey’s tech industry.
In addition to economic ties, Turkey is a key NATO partner in the U.S.-led fight to destroy the Islamic State.
Confusion after the initial suspension of visas prompted Americans and Turks to believe they would be banned from travel. Tuesday, officials clarified that Turkish citizens can apply for visas at U.S. Consulates outside Turkey, and Americans traveling outside the USA can obtain visas on arrival or from Turkish embassies outside the USA.
Pentagon spokesman Robert Manning said the diplomatic dispute has not impacted military operations between the two countries, including U.S. use of an air base in Turkey.
Erdogan sought to shift blame away from the U.S. government onto U.S. Ambassador John Bass. “There is something cooking in the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul,” Erdogan said during a state visit to Serbia. “How did these agents infiltrate the U.S. consulate?”
Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, called the dispute a “threshold moment” for U.S.-Turkish relations that has “eroded trust to such a low level.”
In April, after a referendum giving Erdogan sweeping powers, President Trump called the Turkish leader to congratulate him.
The warm relations proved short-lived. Trump’s administration supports Kurdish rebels in Syria who are fighting the Islamic State. Erdogan fears the Kurds will try to carve out an independent state from land in Turkey, Syria and Iraq.