Readout of President Obama’s Call with Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey
President Obama spoke by phone on June 24 with Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey. The President and Prime Minister discussed developments in Syria, including the regime’s use of chemical weapons against its own people, our shared commitment to pursuing a political solution, the need to provide additional support to the Syrian Coalition and the Supreme Military Council to improve their effectiveness, and the importance of close bilateral cooperation on contingency planning and counterterrorism efforts. The Prime Minister also described the situation in Turkey. The two…
Secretary Kerry and FM Davutoglu had a phone conversation over the weekend
Department of State Spokesperson Jen Psaki confirmed that Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on June 15. Although the call was focued on Syria, the ongoing protests in Turkey were also discussed. Psaki said “we remain focused on calling on all parties to ease tensions and to resolve the situation through dialogue, taking into account views from across the political spectrum. We also continue to urge all sides to exercise restraint and avoid violence.” Read below the full excerpt:
The Gezi Park Protests: Time for a New U.S. Approach to Turkey
By: Howard Eissenstat / POMED To read the full version, click here. Amidst ongoing protests in Turkey, the media has focused its attention on both the causes of the crisis and the Turkish government’s response. Despite this focus, there have been noticeably few assessments of potential outcomes, or recommendations for a broader U.S. response. This brief attempts to help fill that gap, with a view towards informing U.S. policy.
Psaki: “We are confident” that Turkish protests didn’t affect the U.S.-Turkey relationship in terms of dialogue
In response to a question on whether she was confident the ongoing protests in Turkey affected U.S-Turkey relations, Spokesperson Jen Psaki responded “we are confident.” Read the full excerpt of the State Department’s Daily Press Briefing below:
State Department encourages Turkish officials to “refrain from unhelpful rhetoric and unhelpful comments”
On June 6, Department of State Spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Turkey: “Our focus is continuing to urge calm in the country. A number of government officials have done that and we have seen and commended their efforts to do that. We remain supportive, of course, of peaceful protest and of freedom of speech that individuals are exerting in the country, and just would encourage any official there to refrain from unhelpful rhetoric and unhelpful comments that will not help calm the actions that are…