Recent reports indicate that Turkey’s President, Tayyip Erdogan congratulates Joe Biden upon his victory for being elected as the next President of the United States. President Erdogan also congratulated Kamala Harris for securing victory as the Vice-President-elect in the 2020 presidential election. In his wish, President Erdogan emphasized Turkey’s “determination to work closely with the US administration.”
Turkey’s Erdogan congratulates Biden on victory
It is likely that the future will result in closer alliance and cooperation between the United States and Turkey, both states are adamant about ensuring world peace and stability. President Erdogan also maintained warm relations with the former President, Donald Trump while several western nations harbored strained relations with the United States.
Previously, President Erdogan expressed that he is waiting for “final results” before congratulating Joe Biden for winning the Presidential election. President Erdogan stated that it was important to wait in order to comply with the principles of democracy. “We are waiting for the final results because there are objections and other disputes”, he said. These disputes refer to Donald Trump’s refusal of accepting Joe Biden as the President. Donald Trump has alleged voter fraud, and the Trump Campaign has initiated several lawsuits in different states to challenge the legality of the election.
President Erdogan is not the only one who wanted to wait till official results, the Russian President Vladimir Putin also aims to wait until legal challenges to the election have been subsided. Several other leaders, particularly for the Arabian Gulf have already congratulated Joe Biden on his victory.
The past and present
Several political scientists anticipated that Joe Biden’s victory might not be ideal for Turkey. It is likely that Joe Biden is going to toughen the United States’s stance against Turkish President’s foreign military intervention, this intervention will not be positively greeted by Turkey. Biden is also likely to react upon Turkey’s closer cooperation and alliances with Russia.
In 2019, Biden called President Erdogan an “autocrat”, he was also heard saying that he would support “opposition leadership” in Turkey in the future. He was caught saying that he hopes that the opposition leadership can defeat President Erdogan via the electoral process. In response, President Erdogan called Joe Biden an “interventionist”.
Another popular area of dispute between Turkey and the United States is Washington’s refusal to extradite Fethullah Gullen, the acclaimed Muslim cleric. Turkey blames Fethullah Gullen for organizing the failed coup in 2016. It is likely that Turkey will closely observe the foreign policy adopted by Joe Biden. It is likely that Turkey will once again urge the US administration to eliminate support for Kurdish Militant groups in Syria, in addition to the request to extradite Gullen. “We hope that the United States does not continue working with a terrorist organization or organizations”, said President Erdogan.
