Filenews 18 November 2020
Tayyip Erdogan's leondarisms comment once again in the German press - What changing the guard can bring to the White House for Turkey's president
"Why Biden could become the ultimate disaster for Erdogan," reads an extensive analysis by Die Welt newspaper.
The columnist recalls that "already as a candidate the president-elect had made clear announcements on issues concerning Turkey, for example in the Eastern Mediterranean, where Erdogan is sending navy and air force to his gas dispute with Greece and Cyprus. In a statement on Greek-American relations issued in October, Biden's campaign team said that 'unlike President Trump, Joe Biden will oppose Turkey's conduct, for example the violation of Greek airspace, which is contrary to international law and Turkey's obligations as a NATO member country'(...). Biden's longtime sympathy for Greece, Turkey's inverted enemy, goes so far as, they say, to call himself an "honorary Greek" and introduce himself as 'Joe Bidenopoulos' at a campaign event before Greek-Americans in 2012.
Beyond symbolism, the bottom line is, the columnist estimates, that US-Turkey bilateral relations will go through difficult times next year: "The first key date is 24 April 2021. On this day the Armenians commemorate their compatriots who were mass murdered by Ottoman troops in 1915. In April, Biden promised that, if elected, he would recognize the Armenian genocide on behalf of the U.S. Turkey is fighting internationally to prevent the use of the term, while the Erdogan government is also prosecuting anyone who uses it in public. If Biden delivers his announcement, for example on the next anniversary, Ankara's acute response is certain.
The other expected test for bilateral relations is 1 March 2021. Then the trial of the Turkish bank Halkbank, which is accused of circumventing US sanctions against Iran, continues in New York. And in the knowledge of Erdogan and his son-in-chief and then finance minister Albayrak - this is what Turkish-Irish banker Reza Zarab claims, who testified in this case. Last week Albayrak resigned. The fact that us financial services have not long imposed sanctions on Turkey's state bank is solely due, as it is said, to Trump's eupnean attitude towards Erdogan."
Erdogan's challenges
Erdogan's visit to Varosia, as well as Europe's awkward reaction, refers to the comment of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Erdogan observes: "Targeted continues a policy of challenges, linked together. For months it has been instructing its research ships to seek oil and gas, sends the navy in the form of an escort, ostentatiously indifferent to the territorial waters of Cyprus and Greece, which most neighbouring countries recognize. Erdogan has carved out his own borders. He is now talking about a two-state solution, arguing that there are already two states and two peoples in Cyprus and that he has been disgusted by attempts at a diplomatic solution to the Cyprus problem to no avail. It seems that Ankara will soon seek a fait accompli. And what is the reaction of the EU, of which, if anything, the Republic of Cyprus is a member? Nothing. All Brussels has to say is that Ankara's tactics 'would only bring greater mistrust and new tensions'. But that is exactly what Erdogan wants with his aggressive strategy."
Source: Eyenews/First Topic/dw.com
