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Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia speak during a tripartite summit on Syria in April 2018.

Shifting strategic alignments are threatening the decadeslong alliance between Ankara and Washington, and Russia is looking to fill the gap.

Why Turkey and the United States Can't Get Along

Shifting strategic alignments are threatening the decadeslong alliance between Turkey and the United States, and Russia is looking to fill the gap.

Highlights

United States

Turkey

Echoes of the Cold War

The relationship between the United States and Turkey just keeps getting worse. The two countries have clashed repeatedly in recent years over the conflict in Syria, over Turkey's friendship with Russia and over Islamist cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the Turkish government claims was involved in the country's attempted coup in 2016. And if Turkey continues refusing to compromise on key U.S. demands, the already poor relationship could suffer further if the United States acts on its sanctions threat.

GUIDANCE

Why Turkey and the United States Can't Get Along

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