- Turkish President Erdogan looks desperate to get Biden’s attention, officials told Insider.
- He replaced top officials who were distasteful to the U.S. and offered negotiations on the F-35 program.
- Turkey’s state bank faces money laundering allegations in New York, which may explain Erdogan’s motives.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made a series of moves over the past few weeks to appease the US in a desperate attempt to get President Joe Biden’s attention – which he does not get, diplomats and officials told Insider .
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week that Biden would name Erdoğan “at some point” but gave no details.
Since Biden won the election, Erdoğan has replaced a number of top officials who were not unpleasant to the US and offered negotiations to break an impasse of an arms deal.
Then-Vice President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the 2016 presidential complex in Ankara, Turkey.
Kayhan Ozer / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Days after the 2020 election, when Biden appeared to have won, Erdoğan replaced two top officials widely regarded by the US and EU as loyalists with close ties to corruption and economic mismanagement. It is Murat Uysal, who was sacked as governor of the central bank in Turkey on November 7, and Berat Albayrak, the finance and treasury minister, who resigned on November 9. Albayrak is also Erdoğan’s son-in-law.
In February, Turkey also offered negotiations to break the stalemate over the F-35 program, in which the US under former President Donald Trump ended Turkey’s role in manufacturing the warplane after Erdogan refused to buy Russia’s. S-400 surface-to-cancel. air missiles.
But Biden ignored Turkey’s offer, and the Pentagon said its government would pursue a policy of excluding Turkey from the arms program.
An F-35 Lightning II of the 34th Combat Champion at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, landed in April 2017 at RAF Lakenheath, England.
US Air Force / Airman 1st Class Abby L. Finkel
One European diplomat said Erdoğan’s actions had a realization that Biden, like Trump, would not turn a blind eye to his actions.
“It’s so predictable,” said an EU diplomat in Ankara, who could not be named for security reasons but whose identity is known to Insider.
“Trump treated all these guys … Erdogan, Putin, Bibi … like peers, and they all started believing it was in some way,” the source added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. , and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, two fellow strongmen. .
Why Erdoğan wants to be on Biden’s good side
Several officials interviewed by Insider pointed to the impending trial of Turkey’s state-run Halkbank, which will take place in the Southern District of New York this month, as Law.com reported last year.
Halkbank is accused of allowing Iran to launder tens of billions of dollars in cash, gold and oil via Turkey to avoid US sanctions while under the protection of Erdogan’s close allies.
Former bank chief executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla resigned this week as chairman of the Istanbul Stock Exchange – a position that angered US officials as Atilla was convicted in New York in 2018 of his role at the bank and sentenced to 28 months imprisonment.
Erdoğan earlier declared the investigation politically motivated.
The impending trial of Halkbank – which jeopardizes a potential fine of tens of billions of dollars and threatens Turkey’s access to international money transfer systems – shows just how much Erdogan needs to make peace with the new government.
Referring to Turkey’s Halkbank scandal, the EU diplomat said: “The Turks think Trump does not really care, because of course he did not. But Biden cares and Biden knows who the real power in the relationship and now Erdoğan is waiting for the phone, hoping for a call of almost two months. ‘
“Erdogan should have used the sympathetic Trump administration to resolve and end this situation, but he was arrogant and decided he could ignore it completely,” the source added.
“Now he has to deal with Biden on several issues, but the case where Turkey is most clearly guilty remains on the table and is being resolved in a public courtroom. Biden may only call him after the trial, unless there is some kind of crisis. . “