Biden seeking to turn the page in ties with Turkey, says Kalin

Incoming Democratic President-elect Joe Biden wants to turn the page in Washington’s relations with Ankara, Turkey’s presidential spokesman has said according to reports.

“Biden, while he served as [Barack] Obama’s vice president, came to Turkey four times and knows the region. Our contacts with the transition team so far are very positive,” Ibrahim Kalin told Turkish broadcaster CNN Turk on Sunday, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.

“They say they want to develop good relations with Turkey and turn a new page,” Kalin reportedly added.

According to Anadolu, Kalin said there are three main differences between the US and Turkey: US support in Syria for the Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara sees as a terrorist group; Washington’s stance toward the network of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen (the country demands that the US extradite Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the failed 2016 military coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan); and, finally, Turkey’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program following its purchase of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system.