President Obama speaks with Prime Minister Erdogan
President Obama spoke with Prime Minister Erdogan over the phone late on 19 February. The two discussed a variety of regional issues as well as the importance of Turkey’s domestic stability. The following is the full readout of the call as released by the White House: President Obama spoke by phone today with Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey on a range of bilateral and regional issues. The President affirmed the value he places on a strong, mutually respectful bilateral relationship with the Republic of Turkey…
White House welcomes Deputy Prime Minister Arinc’s apology to protestors
White House Spokesperson Jay Carney reiterated importance of Turkey for the U.S., welcomed Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc’s more conciliatory tone, and once again, urged all parties to refrain from violence on a press briefing on June 4. Read the full excerpt below:
White House calls for an investigation of excessive use of violence in Turkey protests
White House Spokesperson Jay Carney answered questions in regards to the ongoing protests in Turkey on June 3. Carney reiterated the full support of the United States for full freedom of express and assembly, including right to peaceful protest, expressed that the U.S. concern over reports of excessive police violence, and called for an investigation of these events. Read the full excerpt below:
A New Boost to Transatlantic Ties: The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the EU-Turkey Customs Union
By: Eray Akdag / The German Marshall Fund Eray Akday is the TUSIAD Permanent Ankara Representative. The below article was published by The German Marshall Fund in their “On Turkey” series. You can find the original here. During Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent visit to the United States, the White House declared that “the United States and Turkey decided today to establish a bilateral High Level Committee led by the Ministry of Economy of Turkey and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, associated with…
Decoding Erdoğan’s visit to Washington
By: Ian Lesser / German Marshall Fund of the US The visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the United States has been animated by the deepening crisis in Syria and its mounting costs for Turkey and the region. The nature of the security challenge facing Turkey was dramatically underscored by the recent terrorist bombings in the Turkish border town of Reyhanli, which claimed dozens of lives. The mounting cross-border instability, with no end in sight, will be difficult to suppress, or even contain,…