Turkiye: NATO ally US pulled back support in fight against terrorism

Turkiye has said the United States did not provide enough support in Ankara's fight against terrorism and that row between both countries began during the Obama administration which Trump's presidency followed in turn. 

"Most of the time we did not see the US support that we expected in the fight against terrorists," Turkiye's presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin told a gathering in the US city of Chicago on Sunday. 

He said ties between his country and US were strained during the period of former US president Barack Obama and continued during the period of Donald Trump.

Kalin said the cultural relationship between Turkiye and the US is old and emphasised the importance of the relations between the societies of the two countries.

"In the fight against terrorism, we expect them to be at the level, scope and depth we expect. Unfortunately, we did not see the support most of the time," said Kalin, who is in the US to attend the MAS-ICNA Congress, which is organised annually by several American Muslim umbrella organisations.

The meeting was hosted by Turkiye's ambassador to Washington Hasan Murat Mercan and Chicago Consul General Engin Turesin where Kalin also met with many Turkish expats. 

Kalin said that Turkish-American relations are critical enough to develop a strategic partnership perspective, "but we have seen that approaches that ignore Turkiye's threat perception and the threats we face are also implemented by the American administrations."

The US continued to support the YPG/PKK terrorist organisation in Syria, Turkiye was sanctioned by the US over the purchase of S-400 air defence systems, Turkiye was removed from the F-35 programme, and the US sheltered head of FETO terrorist organisation, he said. 

Kalin said, despite differences, there are areas on which Turkiye and the US continue to work and agree.

Karabakh's liberation

Speaking on Azerbaijan- Armenia war, Kalin said the liberation of Karabakh has opened a new page in history.

"With the liberation of Karabakh, with its independence and joining Azerbaijani lands, a new page in history has opened there," Klain said, adding Turkiye-Armenia or Turkish-Armenian conflict "is coming to an end in the Caucasus."

Stating that the Armenian lobby in the US has made anti-Turkiye sentiment a part of its identity, Kalin said, "a very different process is progressing in the Caucasus, now the structure on which this diaspora builds all its energy and argument is about to collapse."

Kalin said that Turkiye and Armenia have taken steps to normalise mutual relations, which he said will benefit Yerevan more. 

He said Armenia is economically weak and is under the tutelage of Russia, so, normalising relations with Turkiye will benefit the country both politically and economically.