Turkey-US Ties 'Closer Than Ever' Says Turkish Ambassador Tan
Semih Idiz writes that Ankara is pleased with the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense and US-Turkish relations are stronger than ever, despite some friction over Turkish trade with Iran.
The Pew Research Center indicates that Turks are still among the world champions in anti-Americanism. Pew’s “Global Attitude Project” for 2012 showed that 72% of Turks rated the US unfavorably, while only 15% rated it favorably. Only Pakistan and Jordan, out of a list of 20 countries, proved worse than Turkey in this respect.
It’s easy to conclude then that there is little hope for Turkish-US ties to develop further, even if they have maintained their military alliance for the sake of practical reasons. And yet the two countries are seen to be enjoying one of the best periods ever in their bilateral ties, according to Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, Namik Tan.
“During this last period we have come closer than ever in Turkish-American relations. Our ties have broadened, diversified and deepened. There is a very close personal relationship between our leaders,” Tan said in an interview with Hurriyet earlier this week.
Adding that the re-election of President Barack Obama provided “a second window of opportunity” for ties, Tan said, “We do not have to rediscover each other.” He also noted that “a country that does not maintain good ties with America will fall back in the international arena in terms of its interests.”
