GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Erdogan's White House Visit May Have Only Delayed the Inevitable Storm

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Sinan Ciddi
Board of Contributors

Nov 20, 2019 | 09:30 GMT

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a news conference at the White House on Nov. 13, 2019.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a news conference at the White House on Nov. 13, 2019. Other than Trump, Erdogan appears to have few friends left in Washington.

(HALIL SAGIRKAYA/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Despite some worries otherwise, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Washington was largely free of drama, but it also didn't achieve any breakthroughs toward resolving long-standing bilateral disputes.
  • U.S. President Donald Trump essentially has given Turkey a chance to reconsider its position on buying S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, dangling the possibility of readmittance into the F-35 program as a lure.
  • Satisfying Washington will be tough, as doing so would likely anger Russia, which could retaliate by imposing measures on Turkey that could prove damaging to the interests of both Erdogan and his country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's White House visit on Nov. 13 can be regarded as a win for Erdogan only in a narrow, yet significant sense. Amid the threat of looming U.S. sanctions, Erdogan’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump ended with the Turkish president voicing Ankara's demands in the Oval office and, apparently, managing to stave off punitive U.S. measures....

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