Trump’s Attempt To Make Erdogan ‘Very Happy’ Rankles Members of Congress

President Trump, on the eve of a trip to Ankara to attend a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders, is angering members of Congress, indicating he is going to make Turkey’s strongman, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “very happy.” At issue is Turkey’s return to an alliance that partnered with the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin in the development of the world’s most advanced fighter jet, the F-35. Turkey was ejected from that alliance in 2019, after Mr. Erdogan favored a Russian-made missile defense, S-400 batteries, over the American-manufactured system used by other NATO members. Now the White House is attempting to sidestep a Congressional ban on sales to Ankara of F-35 jets as long as Turkey possesses the Russian S-400 system. Mr. Trump is also claiming that through his good relations with Mr. Erdogan, he stopped Turkey from joining the Iran war on the Islamic Republic’s side.Turks are surprised about the claim that Mr. Erdogan planned to join the war. “Nobody here knows what Trump was talking about,” a well-connected Istanbul source tells the Sun. “Perhaps his words were taken out of context. Trump also referred to Russia and China sitting out the war.”Mr. Erdogan, a Sunni Islamist, is eager to assert Turkey as leader of the Muslim world. He dreams of a Turkish-led caliphate, a throwback to Ottoman imperialism that was rejected by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He is widely believed to prefer to leave intact a weakened Islamic Republic leadership to what he fears could be chaos in the aftermath of the regime’s fall. America’s ambassador to Ankara, Tom Barrak, is a close Trump ally who is seen as one of Mr. Erdogan’s top advocates at Washington. Mr. Trump increasingly sees his Turkish counterpart as a regional force for good.The Turkish president “stayed out of the war,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday after a meeting at the White House with the NATO chief, Mark Rutte. Mr. Erdogan “was a prime candidate to go into the war with Iran, maybe on the Iran side, because he’s not a big fan of Israel. I asked him to stay out. He stayed out.”The Turkish president “is a great leader, a very strong person,” Mr. Trump added. “Everything I’ve ever asked from him, he’s done.” Asked if he would carry a “gift bag” to Mr. Erdogan when he attends the NATO summit at Ankara on July 7, Mr. Trump said, “I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy.”Mr. Trump’s hint that he might allow Turkey back into the F-35 program took Washington observers aback. “I think Trump wants to distract from Iran, he wants a good news cycle,” a Turkey watcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, Sinan Ciddi, tells the Sun. “He wants someone telling that he’s done an amazing thing by working quickly.”If that was the intent, it might have failed, as a growing bipartisan group in Congress is leery of Mr. Erdogan, and is opposed to equipping Turkey with advanced weapons. The White House is already pushing forward a sale of F-110 jet engines for Turkey’s indigenous KAAN fighter, a deal worth more than $700 million. Although “there are certain things that we have to certify that have happened in order to comply with American law,” Vice President Vance told reporters Wednesday, “the president has asked us to do that, so they can get the F-35s.” The administration is attempting to “shut Congress out and to treat legitimate oversight,” the ranking Democrat in the House foreign affairs committee, Gregory Meeks, said recently. Among the Republicans who oppose sales of advanced weapons to Turkey is a member of the House Hellenic caucus, Nicole Malliotakis.Greece and Turkey have long been at each other’s throats. Israel, once an Ankara ally, also considers Mr. Erdogan now as a threat. As Mr. Trump said Wednesday, Mr. Erdogan is not a “big fan” of the Jewish state. Mr. Erdogan is hosting Hamas leaders in Turkey and is now the terror organization’s top backer. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently that beyond maintaining Israel’s regional military edge, it must prevent foes from obtaining advanced weapons. His statement is widely seen as directed at Turkey.

Trump’s Attempt To Make Erdogan ‘Very Happy’ Rankles Members of Congress

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