Turkey's Erdogan aims to 'strengthen' relationship with Joe Biden administration

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday expressed the desire to "strengthen" bilateral ties with the United States under the leadership of his American counterpart Joe Biden. According to Anadolu news agency, Erdogan said he wants to establish a "win-win" relationship with the new administration in Washington. Erdogan's comment came at the launch event of a new TV news channel by the Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC). 

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Erdogan said the ties between Turkey and the United States were "seriously tested" under the previous administration of Donald Trump, but now he wants to change the course by strengthening the relationship with Biden's White House on a "win-win" basis. Erdogan particularly highlighted Washington's reluctance in providing support to Turkey in its fight against a local Kurdish militant political organisation called PKK, which has been listed as a terrorist organisation by several states. 

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PKK received direct support from the US military in 2014 to fight the Islamic State despite the group being designated as a terrorist organisation by Washington. Last week, when more than a dozen Turkish citizens were killed in an attack allegedly carried out by PKK, Erdogan slammed the United States for not holding the terror group responsible in its official statement. Soon after, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement blaming PKK for the attack. 

"We could not see the support and solidarity we expected from our NATO ally, especially in combating the PKK terror group and its extensions," Erdogan was quoted as saying by Anadolu. Erdogan said Turkey expects a clear stance from all its allies, especially after 13 Turkish citizens were killed in a terrorist attack in Iraq last week. 

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'Interests outweighs differences' 

However, Erdogan said that Turkey and the United States have more common interests than differences in opinion, which makes it vital for the two strategic partners to get back to the drawing board and provide a fresh start to their relationship. Meanwhile, Biden still hasn't called his Turkish counterpart more than a month after getting sworn-in as the 46th President of the United States. Biden has talked to leaders of all other major NATO allies, except for Turkey, which is making a lot of noise in Ankara's political corridor. 

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