Bloomberg: Where does Türkiye stand between Washington and Moscow?
Türkiye is working to strengthen military relations with the United States, by complying with financial sanctions imposed on Russia, but at the same time it seeks to maintain relations with Moscow, according to a Bloomberg report entitled “Türkiye is walking a thin rope between the United States and Russia in a diplomatic puzzle”.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington on Thursday.
These meetings come after Fidan met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Türkiye a few days ago.
However, Fidan faces difficulties in achieving a balance to maintain relations with the two countries, especially in light of the dispute over the situation in Ukraine.
Fidan is expected to discuss lifting US sanctions imposed on the Turkish defense industry over its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.
At the same time, Türkiye must pay the $1.4 billion it had previously placed as a down payment in a deal with the United States.
These efforts come in the context of signing a deal to sell F-16 warplanes and US missiles and bombs worth $23 billion, which strengthens military relations between the two countries.
Türkiye is an important partner of the United States in the Middle East, and played a vital role during the Cold War and in the fight against ISIS in Syria.
Despite these efforts to improve relations with the United States, Türkiye is also seeking to expand its energy ties with Russia, as it aims to transform itself into a hub for routing natural gas shipments to Europe.