Turkey and NATO: the Biden Factor. Part 1

Abstract

The article examines the approach of Turkey and the leadership of the North Atlantic Alliance to the problem of noticeably deteriorating relations between them. The process of «undocking» Ankara’s partnership with NATO has been gaining momentum over the past four years, despite the generally friendly relationship between Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump. With the exception of the deal between Turkey and Russia for the supply of the S-400 air defense system, which was sharply criticized by the alliance and primarily the United States, the range of other controversial issues mainly concerned relations between Ankara and the EU countries. D. Trump often used the tension between Ankara and Brussels in pursuing his line («America first») in relations with the EU countries. This could not but weaken the partnership between NATO members as a whole. The author concludes that the June 2021 summit of the alliance, at which the United States was represented by President Joe Biden, marked the beginning of the process of overcoming the differences between Turkey and its NATO allies. The most important impetus in this regard is the renewed concept of the alliance, which defines Russia as an «immediate threat». And this requires the consolidation of NATO ranks through overcoming internal differences. And above all with Turkey. In the first part of the article, the author analyzed the features of relations between Turkey and the United States, as well as Turkey and the European Union during the presidency of D. Trump. The second part will examine relations in the Turkey – US – EU triangle in the new international environment under the influence of the Joe Biden administration.