Turkey: Background and U.S. Relations
Abstract
U.S. relations with Turkey take place within a complicated geopolitical environment and with Turkey in economic distress. U.S.-Turkey tensions that worsened after a failed 2016 coup in Turkey including ongoing disagreements over Syrian Kurds and Turkeys 2019 procurement of a Russian S-400 surface-to-air defense system have raised questions about the future of bilateral relations. Congressional actions have included sanctions legislation and informal holdson U.S. arms sales. Nevertheless, U.S. and Turkish officials emphasize the importance of continued cooperation and Turkey's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO). Observers voice concerns about the largely authoritarian rule of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Major inflation and a sharp decline in Turkey's currency perhaps partly due to Erdogan's unorthodox policy of keeping interest rates relatively low have led to speculation that Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (Turkish acronym AKP) might be vulnerable to a coalition of opposition parties in presidential and parliamentary elections planned for June 2023 if competitive elections occur. If a different Turkish president were to win 2023 elections and take power, some domestic and foreign policy changes could be possible.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 22, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1189206
Entities
People
- Clayton Thomas
- Jim Zannotti