Blinken to talk aid, Nordic Nato bid in visit to quake-hit Turkey

Mr Antony Blinken will discuss how Washington can further assist Ankara as it grapples with the earthquake aftermath. PHOTO: AFP

MUNICH – United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on Sunday for an official visit and discussions on how Washington can further assist Ankara as it grapples with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey’s south-east and neighbouring Syria on Feb 6.

It killed more than 45,000 people and has left more than a million people homeless, along with an economic cost expected to run into billions of dollars. 

Also topping Mr Blinken’s agenda will be the stalled North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) bids of Sweden and Finland, which Turkey has so far refused to ratify.

Ankara says Stockholm, in particular, has harboured what it calls members of terrorist groups.

Turkey has recently indicated it would approve only Finland.

Mr Blinken will hold bilateral talks on Monday with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. He is also expected to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said sources familiar with the planning. 

Since the earthquake, the US has sent a search-and-rescue team to Turkey, medical supplies, concrete-breaking machinery, and additional funding of US$85 million (S$114 million) in humanitarian aid, which also covers Syria. 

Mr Blinken’s first visit to Turkey as secretary of state has been in the works for some time. But the trip comes two years after he took office, in stark contrast with some of his predecessors, including Mrs Hillary Clinton and Mr Rex Tillerson, who made the visit within the first three months of their terms. 

The delay, analysts say, shows the strained nature of the relationship, which has soured, particularly since 2019 when Ankara acquired Russian missile defence systems.

While the US has praised Turkey for some of its actions during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it remains worried about its close relationship with Moscow, say experts. 

Nato deadlock

Sweden and Finland applied in 2022 to join the transatlantic defence pact, after Russia invaded Ukraine.

But the two Nordic countries faced unexpected objections from Turkey and have since sought to win its support. 

Ankara wants Helsinki and Stockholm, in particular, to take a tougher line against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is considered a terror group by Turkey and the European Union, and another group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt. 

In January, Mr Erdogan said he was open to ratifying only Helsinki’s application. 

Linked to the membership bids is Turkey’s desire to buy US-made F-16 fighter jets. The US Congress has objected to the sale, unless Ankara at least gives the green light for the Nordic accession process. On Saturday, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen echoed that sentiment, saying that allowing Finland to join the alliance alone would not be enough. 

“There will be no transfer of F-16s if Erdogan continues to deny admission to Finland and Sweden... He doesn’t get to have Finland in and the F-16s approved, and I think that’s a broad sentiment,” said Mr Van Hollen in an interview. 

The Biden administration has repeatedly said it supports the sale. While it has refrained from linking the two issues, it has acknowledged that approval for the Nordic countries would have a positive impact among members of Congress. 

Turkey has expressed its frustration that the issues are seen as increasingly linked.

Mr Ibrahim Kalin, Mr Erdogan’s chief foreign policy adviser, said in January that he hoped the F-16 deal would not become “hostage” to the Nato memberships of Sweden and Finland. REUTERS

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