At a time of rising tensions between the US and Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Washington D.C., where his first order of business was to attend an iftar dinner at the Diyanet Center of America (DCA) organized by the Turkish-American National Steering Committee (TASC).

Çavuşoğlu will meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well as various meetings in Congress and visits to think tanks.

Tensions run high between the US and the Turkish state especially due to Turkey’s complicity with gang groups in Syria, and the close relationship with Russia and Iran. As a NATO member, Turkey signing a deal with Russia for S-400 aerial defense systems raises protest from allies. In Syria, Turkish invasionism and threats of invasion against Manbij constitute a point of tension between the two countries.

“THE US DIDN’T SELL PATRIOTS”

Çavuşoğlu spoke in the iftar dinner and admitted to tensions between the US and Turkey. The Foreign Minister said: “There is tension between the US and us due to the S-400s. We first wanted to buy these systems from the US and our allies, but they didn’t sell them to us.”

Çavuşoğlu spoke about an agreement regarding Manbij and stated that they will start the implementation if there is mutual approval with Pompeo. Çavuşoğlu said “it could be a turning point in bilateral relations.”

CLAIMS FOR MANBIJ

Turkey’s previous statements that there have been “agreements” for Manbij have been refuted by the US to date. AKP mouthpiece Anadolu Agency published two articles last week and claimed that the two ministers will be signing the final agreement. Also according to the AA, in accordance with the technical accord, YPG forces will retreat to the east of the Euphrates and Turkish and American troops and intelligence units will launch a joint overseeing in the district. There are no forces that accept the Turkish state’s presence in the region.

THE BRUNSON CRISIS

Another point of tension is Andrew Brunson, the American pastor who has been in prison in Turkey for more than 1.5 years. Brunson had been a victim of the wave of arrests that started after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. The US wants the pastor to be released. US President Donald Trump posted a tweet in April and said, “Pastor Andrew Brunson, a fine gentleman and Christian leader in the United States, is on trial and being persecuted in Turkey for no reason. They call him a Spy, but I am more a Spy than he is. Hopefully he will be allowed to come home to his beautiful family where he belongs!”

TURKEY’S DEMAND FOR F-35’S

There is an anti-Turkey opposition in the US Congress regarding the matter of F-35s. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate proposed two separate draft bills to suspend the delivery of F-35 planned for June. Turkey’s S-400 deal with Russia and the Brunson issue were cited as reasons for this reaction.

The Reza Zarrab case, the case of former AKP accomplice Fethullah Gülen, the Jerusalem issue, the rescinding of the Iranian nuclear deal and US tariffs are among the topics of discussion. Turkey had been the sixth biggest exporter of steel to the US.