Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey and the US were entering a “new era” in ties, after the Nato allies’ relationship deteriorated in recent years over a range of issues.
But speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Mr Erdogan called for the US to respect for Turkey’s sovereign rights, in an apparent reference to Ankara's purchase of a Russian missile defence system.
He also called for support in relation to Turkey’s fight against Syrian Kurdish groups it considers to be terrorists.
Mr Erdogan made the comments days after his first meeting with US President Joe Biden since he took office.
The two men, who have known each other for years, met on the sidelines of a Nato summit in Brussels.
Mr Erdogan has been trying to repair relations with the US and other western partners as his government tackles an economic downturn made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We believe that we will resolve the problematic issues between us in time, based on our mutual sensitivities and expectations,” he said in a televised address.
“We agreed that there is no issue that we cannot surmount and that on the contrary, the areas of co-operation are greater and more profitable.”
The long-time allies have a long list of disagreements, including US support for Kurdish fighters in Syria and Turkey buying Russia’s S-400 defence system.
The purchase angered Washington and resulted in Ankara being ejected from the US-led F-35 fighter aircraft production programme, sanctions imposed on senior Turkish defence industry officials, and bans on military export licences.
Washington says the Russian system is a threat to Nato security and insists that sanctions cannot be lifted until Turkey gets rid of the system, which has cost $2.5 billion.
Ankara says the Syrian Kurdish fighters are inextricably linked to a decades-long insurgency in Turkey.
Mr Erdogan said his talks with Mr Biden were comprehensive and productive, and that the two agreed to meet again.
“We believe that we have opened the doors of a new era with the United States on a positive and constructive basis,” he said.
“Turkey’s only demand is that its political and economic sovereign rights are respected and that support is given to the struggle it is carrying out against terror organisations inside and outside its borders.”
