WASHINGTON WANTS S-400S ABANDONED
The issues straining the NATO allies stretch well beyond Syria and Russia. While Washington has largely stayed quiet in the face of an increasingly authoritarian Erdogan, it wants Ankara to drop charges against U.S. consular workers prosecuted in Turkey.
For Ankara, its long-standing extradition request for U.S.-based terrorist Fethullah Gulen, who it blames for orchestrating the 2016 failed coup, and U.S. charges on Turkey's state-owned Halkbank for Iran sanctions-busting are also contentious.
For Wednesday, the Trump administration's main goals are to get Erdoğan to drop plans to use the S-400s and to agree to a permanent ceasefire in Syria, a senior administration official said. "We want to lock that in," the official said, referring to both issues.
If Turkey agrees, Washington could eventually allow Ankara back on the F-35 fighter jet program and offer to sign a $100 billion trade agreement, two U.S. officials said. But Ankara has yet to signal a reversal.
"Something like Turkey taking a step back from its purchase of S-400s is not on the agenda," a senior Turkish official said.
Since his announcement last December to pull out all troops from Syria, Trump has softened plans and agreed to keep a residual force in the northeastern part of the country.
"U.S. soldiers remaining at oil fields in Syria are also against the spirit of what is being done in Syria," a senior Turkish official said. "The support the United States provides the YPG is one of the biggest threats to ties between the two countries in the coming period. This will be underlined very seriously during the visit," he said.
Despite the disagreements, Ankara remains hopeful, citing a warm telephone conversation between the two leaders last week. "With Trump’s personal support, I believe the visit will contribute to overcoming problems. The phone call gave serious indications of this," the official said.
