The war in Ukraine brings the US and Turkey closer

“The United States welcomes Turkey’s efforts to facilitate a just diplomatic solution to end the war through negotiation.” This is underlined, among other things, by the joint statement issued in Ankara, following the visit of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, referring to the Turkish mediation, which includes the proposal to hold a summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr. Zelensky.

Washington, therefore, not only did not disapprove of or threaten Ankara with new sanctions because of its categorical refusal to impose sanctions on Moscow for invading Ukraine, but seems ready to take another step: to reconsider the data that led to the rift between the two traditional allies and NATO partners, on the occasion of the purchase by Turkey of the Russian S-400 system.

Erdogan is one thing, and Turkey is another

“The United States and Turkey look forward to a ministerial meeting within the framework of the Strategic Mechanism in 2022,” the statement said. This is an important step in the process of gradual restoration of bilateral relations, which was decided during the meeting of the two presidents, Joe Biden and Tayyip Erdogan, last October.

This confirms in practice the fact that the US – even if it does not particularly like Erdogan and the AKP – attaches great importance to Turkey’s geostrategic position and the role it can play in the wider region and is not willing to leave it to the Putin’s embrace.

Europe is also thinking about it

The same is true in the case of the European Union, despite Ankara’s objections to the content of the “Strategic Compass”. The case of Turkey’s accession to it may have been virtually ruled out as a scenario (at least for the foreseeable future), but both the refugee issue and its strong influence in the Muslim world and the Balkans make it a valuable – if not irreplaceable – partner.

Indicative of this are the remarks of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in a recent confidential report to Bundestag MPs: “Its position makes Turkey a key player in the South Caucasus, the Black Sea and the Middle East and is of vital geostrategic importance to Europe, which means that Germany can not ignore the views and its interests in security matters “.