Biden didn’t go to Turkey, and things aren’t okay with Erdogan
The Turkish president announces plans for another invasion of Syria, while digging in on rejecting admitting Sweden and Finland to NATO.
Erdogan: ‘Let me underscore it once again’
Asked on May 18 how he would convince Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to agree to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, US President Joe Biden said, "I’m not going to Turkey, but I think we’re going to be OK."
Nine days later, all is not yet OK. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on May 27 that “an approach of ‘we’ll convince Turkey in time anyway, we are friends and allies’ would not be correct," and that Sweden and Finland "need to take concrete steps.”
The Biden administration’s position that "this is not a US issue," meaning it can be worked out among Sweden, Finland and Turkey, may require a rethink. Direct negotiations this week in Ankara ended without resolution. Erdogan is dug in that the two Nordic countries must take "concrete steps" to crack down on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey, as well as the United States, consider a terrorist organization.
