Talks to ease US-Turkey rift to continue

The official Turkish delegation that traveled to the US for talks on mending bilateral ties returned home on Thursday (August 9) after refusing to accept the undiplomatic preconditions set by the US, including the extrajudicial release of a suspect, Daily Sabah reported. 

The American side reportedly demanded the immediate release of pastor Andrew Brunson before any progress could be made, a move seen by experts as blatant contempt for the Turkish judiciary and the rule of law. 

The nine-person delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, arrived in Washington on Tuesday and met US Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan and accompanying officials. There was also a meeting between the Treasury officials of the two countries. No official statement was released by the Turkish side afterwards, while the US State Department said that Onal and Sullivan "discussed a range of bilateral matters including Pastor Brunson."

In a brief statement, the State Department only said the two sides “discussed a range of bilateral matters including pastor Brunson.”

“We held additional talks with Turkish officials. The conversations continue,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement after the meeting.

A Wall Street Journal report claimed that the US demand for the release of Brunson scuttled the talks. İlnur Cevik, chief adviser to President Erdogan and Daily Sabah columnist, said that the US side’s insistence for the release of Brunson was very disrespectful both toward Turkey and its judiciary. "Turkey is an independent state, not an authoritarian regime, which you may tell what to do. In diplomacy, you have to be flexible and ready for all options," Cevik said.

Talha Kose, an academic from Ibn Haldun University’s department of Political Science and International Relations, told Daily Sabah on US demands about Brunson that it is was not possible to release a suspect upon the request of another administration in a meeting.

"Hence, I do not think the real purpose of these meetings is to solve the problems between two countries. It is more like crisis management to start putting things in order," Kose said.

Ankara and Washington have faced a period of crises since the Barack Obama administration, including the disagreement over US support for the YPG.

Relations between the two countries hit rock bottom when Washington decided to impose sanctions on Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul over Turkey’s detention of Brunson.

Kose stressed that there are some cliques in the US administration who don’t want ties between two NATO allies to recover.