US’ Blinken to pledge quake support on first Turkey visit
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Top US diplomat Mr Blinken will also take part in the Munich Security Conference, where the Ukraine war and tensions with China will take centre-stage.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel on Sunday to Turkey to discuss support after a massive earthquake, his first trip to the Nato ally which has had turbulent relations with Washington.
Mr Blinken will visit Incirlik Air Base, through which the US has shipped aid, and then hold talks in the capital Ankara on continued US support, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday.
The top US diplomat will also take part in the Munich Security Conference, where the Ukraine war and tensions with China will take centre stage, and will visit Turkey’s historic rival Greece, a fellow Nato ally.
The US has flown in some 200 rescuers and contributed an initial US$85 million (S$113 million) in relief for Turkey, deploying Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters to bring supplies to worst-hit areas.
The visit, which was planned before the Feb 6 earthquake that has killed nearly 40,000 people
US President Joe Biden was elected after promising to take a greater distance from his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who Mr Biden has previously branded an autocrat.
But the Biden administration has since viewed Turkey as helpful for a mediatory role between Russia and Ukraine, including in a deal to ship grain through the Black Sea
The Biden administration has voiced support for Turkey’s request to buy F-16 fighter jets,
The US has been seeking ways to encourage Mr Erdogan to lift his objections to Nato membership for Sweden and Finland, which have shed earlier neutrality since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey has been the key holdout, with Mr Erdogan pressing Sweden to crack down on Kurdish militants seen by Ankara as terrorists.
After signs of progress, Mr Erdogan renewed objections to Sweden after a protest outside Turkey’s embassy in Stockholm at which a far-right activist torched Islam’s holy book, the Quran.
The US in recent years has also been angered by Turkey’s purchase of an advanced air defence system from Moscow, saying it could help Nato’s primary adversary hone in on Western fighter jets.
Mr Blinken is expected to discuss tensions with Turkey when he travels on Monday to Athens, although the temperature has cooled since the earthquake as Greece provides assistance to its neighbour.
He will start his trip on Thursday in Frankfurt and head to the Munich Security Conference, the annual gathering of leaders that is taking place a week before the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In Munich, Mr Blinken will join Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is part of a slew of US officials visiting Europe around the anniversary, with Mr Biden due in Poland
Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi is also expected in Munich, offering a potential chance for a meeting with Mr Blinken, although US officials said nothing was decided.
Mr Blinken had been due to travel earlier this month to Beijing in the first trip by a top US diplomat in more than four years, seeking to prevent tensions between the world’s two largest economies from spiralling out of control.
But he abruptly cancelled the trip
